The Arrival Has Come
by hindsight404
Summary: Shepard goes to Earth to answer for his actions and sets off on a new adventure. He'll run into some new people, familiar faces, and an old flame. An alternative approach to the events of ME3.
1. Chapter 1

This is the first chapter to my series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set after the Arrival DLC and leads into Mass Effect 3. Not sure how far into the story I will go.

*There are some spoilers ahead for ME3.*

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect, but I certainly wish I did.

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter One: Summons

"_Do whatever you have to do out here. But when Earth calls you, you make sure you're there with your dress blues on, ready to take the hit," said Alliance Admiral Steven Hackett._

That conversation had been months ago, seemingly in another lifetime to Commander Tiberius "T" Shepard. And he even knew what it was like to have another lifetime. Literally.

But in this lifetime, the one that had him resurrected by Cerberus, he was once again answering to the Alliance.

_Commander Shepard,_

_ It is the responsibility of the Systems Alliance to maintain peace and harmony throughout the galaxy and to lay to rest any threats against such ideas. As such, your recent actions against the batarian race, particularly the former colony of Aratoht, have dismantled the core of what the Alliance stands for._

_ Action has been demanded from the Admiralty Board. In order to maintain galactic peace, and peace between the batarians and the Systems Alliance, you have been called to Earth for a hearing on the subject of your decisions._

_ Despite your Spectre status, which exempts you from Alliance command, you were on assignment from Admiral Steven Hackett, Fifth Fleet, and were therefore an extension of the Alliance. _

_ As such, your hearing will be held on Earth at the Systems Alliance Headquarters at Vancouver Central Station. You have three days from the date of your receiving of this message to attend your hearing. If you fail to answer this summons and arrive at the hearing, you will be in violation of Alliance protocol and a warrant will be sent out for your arrest. _

_ You will stand before the Admiralty Board. This is only a hearing, not a legislative trial. You are allowed to bring witnesses to bear testimony to your actions, but keep in mind that anything you or a witness says can and will be held against you._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Major Caleb Antella_

_ Department of Naval Internal Affairs_

Shepard sighed, aggravated. There was no mention of the impending arrival of the Reapers. He was sure that Admiral Hackett had done his damndest to get the admirals to listen to him, but it hadn't been enough. While the Systems Alliance and the Council were worried about galactic peace, they should have been worried about the galactic destruction of every organic life form.

"Shit," Tiberius cursed under his breath.

Yeoman Kelly Chambers snapped her head around to look at Shepard.

"Something wrong, Commander?"

Shepard rubbed the back of his head and stormed off towards the cockpit without answering Kelly's question. He heard Joker and EDI bantering about FTL drives and the _Normandy_'s capabilities, but upon his arrival in the cockpit, all talk ceased.

"Joker, set a course for the Local Cluster," Tiberius said.

"The Local Cluster?" asked Joker, scoffing. "As in…Earth?"

"Yup. That would be the one."

"Something going on, Commander?"

"I've been called to Earth by the Alliance for a hearing."

"Right, right," said Joker as he uploaded the course to the _Normandy_'s interface.

"Commander, what is the nature of this visit?" asked EDI's synthesized voice.

"The Admiralty Board wants me to pay for upsetting the galactic peace."

"Was there any mention of, 'Hey the Reapers might be coming, so hurry it up'?" asked Joker.

"None."

"God, I hate these guys already."

"We'll just see what happens when we get there."

* * *

><p>"Commander, I'll go with you," Jacob volunteered. "I was an Alliance soldier. I'll speak for you."<p>

"Thanks for that, Jacob," said Tiberius, "but since you joined Cerberus, I don't think it's a good idea for you to speak on my behalf."

"I suppose you're right," the former Corsair nodded.

"What about me, Shepard? I was in Citadel Security and I've known you a long time," said Garrus.

"But you quit, and then went vigilante."

Tiberius sighed as he looked at the members of his team – or what was left of it since the departure of a few after they hit the Collector base.

There was Jack. _No way in hell am I letting her speak for me_, Tiberius said to himself.

Miranda? No, she had been a Cerberus loyalist, up to the point that the Illusive Man had told her to stop Shepard from destroying the Collector base. Her change in heart and motivation had been a turn for the better in Shepard's eyes, but the Admiralty Board would only see an attractive pair of breasts and a Cerberus stain on her record.

There was Thane. A drell. An assassin at that. Alliance Command thought assassins equal to mercenaries.

Grunt, Mordin, Samara, Legion… They were all gone. They left after the mission was over. Tali left but promised to find Shepard once she straightened things out with the flotilla. Liara? She was still busy adjusting to her life as the new Shadow Broker. Too busy keeping tabs on everyone else and monitoring the underworld of the galaxy to assist an old friend.

No… What Shepard really needed was an Alliance soldier to speak for him. Someone like…

Kaidan. Or Ashley.

But Kaidan had been blown to pieces on Virmire. Shepard still woke up sweating in the middle of the night seeing the lieutenant's face in his dreams. Along with the dead men from Shepard's squad on Akuze, Kaidan's ghost still haunted him.

And Ashley.

God, he wished things had been different. He wished she didn't see Cerberus as the enemy back then all those months ago on Horizon. He thought they were a bunch of sick bastards, but they were the _only ones_ doing anything to stop the Collectors and the Reapers.

If she were still here – or even if she just communicated with Shepard at all – she'd speak on his behalf. But as it was, her only message to him had been a curt apology and a wish that he didn't die in his upcoming mission. Any hope that Tiberius thought that they had together in the future flew out the window when she called him a traitor. But it didn't stop him from losing hope altogether.

He was a firm believer in second chances.

Thinking back to the situation at hand, he realized that not even Chakwas or Joker was in a good position to be a witness for him at the hearing.

_Damn_, Tiberius thought to him. He was screwed.

"Let's just get there first," he said to his team. "Let's see what the plan is and then go from there."

"Will there be time for shore leave?" asked Jack. A devilish grin displayed itself upon her pouty lips. He imagined that she was already formulating her sinister plans. For what? Damned if he knew.

"Afraid not," Tiberius replied. "Those of you who don't come with me to the hearing should stay put on the _Normandy_. I don't know how Alliance Command would feel about having ex-Cerberus operatives run amok at headquarters, and I don't want to risk any unnecessary confrontations with people who've heard that the _Normandy _housed Cerberus' people. Are we clear?"

Jacob saluted. "Yes, sir, Commander."

The rest of the team nodded and acknowledged their understanding.

"Five minutes from headquarters, Commander," said Joker over the comm channel.

* * *

><p>This is just the warm up. Reviews please!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

This is the second chapter to my series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set after the Arrival DLC and leads into Mass Effect 3. Not sure how far into the story I will go.

*There are some spoilers ahead for ME3.*

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect, but I certainly wish I did.

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Two: Hearing

"Stand by, shore party," EDI chirped. "Equalizing interior pressure with exterior atmosphere. Logged: the commanding officer is ashore. XO Lawson has the deck."

"We'll be back soon, EDI," said Shepard on his way out.

"Good luck, Commander," the AI replied as Garrus and Shepard walked out of the _Normandy_'s airlock.

Upon reaching the docking bay platform, Shepard saw a squadron of seven armed Alliance soldiers. One, wearing a helmet, looked to be in charge.

"Trouble already Shepard? Damn," Garrus muttered. "We haven't even been here five minutes. It's like Feros and Noveria all over again!"

"It'll be fine. Let's just see what's going on."

Garrus and the commander approached the squadron.

"Ten-hut," said the helmed soldier and the others stood at attention.

Shepard saluted the soldier.

"Staff Lieutenant James Vega, sir," said the man. "I have orders from Rear Admiral Mikhailovich to have the _Normandy _grounded during the duration of your hearing, Commander."

"No one told me this," said Tiberius.

Garrus snorted. "Of course it came from Mikhailovich. Who else?"

"I apologize for the inconvenience, sir. The order was just issued this morning. The admirals have also agreed to post Alliance personnel on this frigate until your departure. I've been assigned to the _Normandy _on a temporary basis."

Shepard sighed. "Anything else I should know, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir. Regardless of the outcome of your hearing, a Spectre and full Alliance crew has been assigned to the _Normandy _as well."

"A Spectre?" Shepard asked. "Who?"

"I was not given the details, sir, just my orders," the soldier replied.

"Putting an Alliance crew on the _Normandy_ is a bad choice, Shepard," said Garrus. "We might be ex-Cerberus, but there's not a lot of love for the Alliance on that ship either."

"I know it's not a good idea," Tiberius sighed, "but I'm not really in a position to argue with Alliance orders at this point. As long as both crews know who's in charge, there shouldn't be a problem."

"Understood, sir," said Vega with a nod. "We'll take good care of her while you're gone."

"You better," Garrus sniveled. "If anyone touches the main gun or screws with my calibrations, I'll hunt you-"

"Garrus, let's get moving," Shepard said, grabbing the turian and hauling him towards the elevator that would take them away from the docking bay. "Carry on, Lieutenant," he said over his shoulder, pushing Garrus into the elevator.

The elevator descended at what could have possibly been the slowest pace. Garrus stood with his arms crossed, sulking. Tiberius couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Relax. They won't touch a thing. Joker will make sure of that!"

Garrus gave up his sulking as the elevator doors opened on Vancouver Central's ground level. They walked out and Shepard noticed Garrus' wandering eyes as they blanketed the city. They strode on in silence for a while until Garrus pulled his eyes back in front and spoke.

"You said it yourself, Shepard. I'm former C-Sec and a vigilante. Are you sure you want me to come to the hearing with you?" asked Garrus as he and Shepard walked towards the building that displayed the words _Systems Alliance Headquarters – Vancouver Central Station_ over the doorway.

"You've known me the longest, Garrus," Tiberius replied. He clapped the turian on the back. "I don't know who else I could bring in there without it turning into a political shit-storm."

Garrus shrugged. "Perhaps my good looks will soften them up," he chuckled.

Tiberius looked to his right at the great view from the walkway leading to headquarters. He personally hadn't grown up on Vancouver Central, but looking out across the river, the buildings, and the picturesque northwestern sky sure made him miss home. He inhaled a great gust of the fresh air and then sighed.

He had missed Earth.

Garrus and Shepard made it inside the building. In the lobby was a long desk with several women and men acting as the greeters. Alliance soldiers stood two on either side of the four elevators, backs straight and chins up.

Shepard motioned to Garrus as they walked over to the only greeter not occupied talking to other people.

"How can I help you, sir?" asked the blonde woman. The Alliance symbol on her uniform flashed when a ray of sun broke through the clouds and in through the window.

"I'm Commander Shepard. I'm here for a hearing with the Admiralty Board."

The woman's fingers danced as she entered his name into her console. She nodded.

"Commander Tiberius Shepard of the _SSV Normandy_?"

"That's me."

"You're right on time. Fleet Admiral Folsom and the rest of the board just arrived. The hearing will begin in ten minutes, sir."

"Where do I go?"

"Up the elevator to the fifth floor. An Alliance officer will be there to escort from there."

"Thank you," said Shepard.

In the elevator – which was naturally slow yet again – Garrus postulated over the _Normandy_'s grounding.

"Why do you think a Spectre's been assigned to the _Normandy_? We already have you aboard. But another one? What are they trying to do? Weed out the Cerberus cronies?"

"Good thing we scrubbed every logo from the decks and bought new uniforms for the crew," Tiberius laughed. "And converted our resident loyalist."

"Not that I hate the Alliance," Garrus continued with his tirade, "I just remember the last time the _Normandy _was grounded."

"That was Udina and the Council's doing," Tiberius reminded him.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing none of them are here. Although, I'd love to hear Udina bitch about Anderson's right hook one more time. That story never gets old."

The elevator finally reached the fifth floor and the doors swung open. An Alliance soldier came towards them, saluted and then said, "Follow me, Commander."

The soldier escorted them down the hallway into an open area with a vaulted ceiling and large boxed gardens. The place reminded Shepard of the Citadel Tower. Beyond a set of steps were three giant arcing windows.

Shepard noticed two men standing in front of the steps, arms crossed behind their backs, pacing like they were waiting for someone. The Alliance soldier led them towards the steps and when they were close, Shepard realized that the pacing men were in fact Councilor David Anderson and Admiral Steven Hackett.

"Anderson!" Shepard exclaimed.

The ex-soldier turned councilor stopped pacing. Upon seeing Shepard and Garrus, a broad smile crossed his wizened features.

"Commander," he said, once they were close enough to shake hands.

Shepard then turned to Admiral Hackett, saluted and shook his hand too. Admiral Hackett's face was creased with lines of worry and age. The years were finally starting to catch up to him.

The Alliance escort left the three of them at the steps.

"Garrus," Anderson acknowledged, shaking the turian's three-fingered claw.

"Councilor, what are you doing here?" Garrus asked.

"I wasn't going to let the Admiralty Board tear Shepard to pieces on my watch," Anderson replied. "I'd like to be a witness for you, Commander. My voice carries weight in this building."

"I'll take all the help I can get," Shepard laughed. "Thanks for coming, Anderson."

"It's not a problem. I've been wanting to come back to Earth for a while anyways."

"What about your fellow councilors?"

"They'll survive without me for a few days. We've been communicating through messages and comm channels when they need me."

"Did they approve of your coming?"

"Of course not," replied the councilor. "Despite them giving you back your Spectre status, they think your actions in the Viper Nebula were those of a deranged, severely unstable Cerberus convert."

"Let me guess," Garrus interjected. "Valern said that?"

"The turian councilor was very opinionated on the matter, yes."

"More than opinionated, if you ask me," Admiral Hackett chipped in. "I left Arcturus Station after getting a long lecture from the Council. They want me fired just as much as the batarians want you dead, Shepard."

"I'm sorry, Admiral," Shepard apologized. "If there was any other way-"

Hackett lifted his hands to stop him. "Don't worry, Shepard. I know that if there were another option you would've chosen it. Remember I'm the one who sent you out there in the first place."

Shepard nodded while Anderson looked down at his watch.

"Come on," he said. "We've got to get you to your hearing. The board should be assembling."

"Good luck, Commander," said Hackett, putting out his hand again for Tiberius.

"You're not coming?"

The admiral sighed. "I've had to recuse myself from this hearing because of my connections to you. I'm sorry, Shepard. I'll still be rooting for you."

The admiral shook hands with the commander then nodded to Garrus and Anderson before taking his leave.

The councilor, commander and turian walked up the steps past the two soldiers standing guard at the elevated platform. Shepard looked off the side of the platform. Beneath them on both sides was the fifth level's ground floor, several feet below the platform that the three of them now stood on. There was an atrium-like structure on each side, hosting what seemed to be thousands of various kinds of flora in vibrant colors. Shepard vaguely felt sorry for the gardener in charge of maintaining in the area.

As they walked up the platform there was a high, curved pedestal where Shepard would stand during the hearing. On either side stood two more guards, equipped in full Alliance military gear. Beyond the pedestal was a long, empty desk, and behind the desk were the three vaulted windows, which allowed a spectacular view across the river and over the city.

A door to Shepard's right opened and out came an Alliance soldier. He stood at attention a few paces away from the door. Three seconds after he came out, a long train of men in dress blues, berets and admiral caps and one secretary-looking woman walked out along the platform just beneath the large window on the right. They had the swagger of military men as they walked towards the desk in front of Shepard and sat down in their respective places.

The chamber was quiet for a moment as the admirals adjusted in their seats. The soldier posted himself outside the door.

Then there was a voice.

"Commander Tiberius 'T' Shepard, you have been called to this hearing concerning the deaths of 300,000 batarians in the Viper Nebula System on the colony of Aratoht."

Tiberius crossed his arms behind his back and studied the men sitting in front of him. There was a datapad in front of each man and nearby the woman with a tight bun bound to the top of her head typed away at a console.

The Admiralty Board was composed of seven men, most of whom Shepard didn't know by name, only by face. He recognized Major Caleb Antella, head of the Department of Internal Naval Affairs and the prick with a stick up his ass about Shepard, and Rear Admiral Mikhailovich. He had grilled Shepard over two years ago on the original _Normandy_'s status and build, and most recently grounded the _Normandy_ and assigned an Alliance crew to the ship. Shepard had a few things he wished to tell the Rear Admiral, but that would have to wait for another time.

The man who had spoken to Shepard was Fleet Admiral Henry Folsom. At least, that's what his lapel said.

Tiberius had heard a lot about the man, who had made a name for himself during the First Contact War. His accomplishments had been outshined by General Williams' surrender. The old war dog faded into the background of history while everyone remembered General Williams' supposed shortcomings.

Fleet Admiral Folsom didn't look to be in much better shape than Admiral Hackett. Deep lines wrinkled his face and the buzzed hair was white, his goatee tinged the color of salt and pepper. Shepard knew from watching Hackett in action that despite his age, this man was as capable as any of commanding the Alliance fleets.

The Fleet Admiral leaned forward.

"Your report states that Admiral Steven Hackett of the Fifth Fleet asked you to go the Viper Nebula and recover an old friend and deep cover operative, Dr. Amanda Kenson, who had been captured by the batarians of that system. You told the admiral that you would help him, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Tiberius replied with a nod.

"What happened after that?"

"It's all in the report, sir."

The fleet admiral sat back in his chair and fisted his hands.

"Commander, I don't want to be here any more than you do, but your cooperation during this hearing would be greatly appreciated."

Shepard resisted the urge to crack his knuckles.

Instead he straightened up.

"I had the _Normandy _fly out to Aratoht. We were silent running. I took a shuttle to the base where I was dropped off. I got inside, explored the base and found Dr. Kenson. We got out of there by the skin of our teeth and while we were on a shuttle to the base on an asteroid, she told me about The Project.

"It was a plan to launch the asteroid into the system's mass relay. She told me that before the batarians had taken her captive, she and her team had been prepared to launch. They were certain that there would be casualties: she estimated that the destruction of the mass relay would be colossal and that the entire system would be destroyed."

"Excuse me, Commander," Major Antella interrupted. "What was the reason behind her team needing to launch the asteroid into the mass relay?"

"Kenson called this specific mass relay the Reaper's alpha relay, meaning it would be the one relay that they would come through, and from there, they would use it to spread throughout the rest of the galaxy."

"Tell us about the Reapers," said an admiral that Shepard didn't recognize. "We know that you have made claims these last few years about their coming arrival, but the only supposed 'Reaper' you have fought was during the Battle of the Citadel."

"That Reaper was a vanguard. It indoctrinated Saren Arterius into its will and was going to use him to free the rest of the Reapers from dark space."

"So you would therefore deny the council's claims that it was the other way around, that it was Saren's flagship and that he used the geth to take control of the Citadel?"

"Yes," said Shepard. "I would deny that."

A few of the admirals whispered amongst themselves.

The fleet admiral motioned for Shepard to continue. "Please. Your report."

Shepard inhaled slowly before speaking again.

_Keep it together_, he told himself. _Keep yourself together._

"Dr. Kenson and I reached the asteroid and her base, where she claimed that her team had uncovered a Reaper artifact and discovered that they only had so much time before the Reaper arrival in the Viper Nebula System. At that point, it was two days. She took me to the Reaper artifact. It was out in the open, and after the facility's personnel attacked me, it was clear that these people had been indoctrinated by the artifact just like Saren had.

"I spent the next two days sedated. When I woke up, I fought my way through the facility to get the launch online and The Project going. Kenson and her indoctrinated attacked me and tried to stop me. Unfortunately, I could not save Dr. Kenson. I made it out of the base and just before I had the _Normandy _come in for a pick up, I met Harbinger, another Reaper. It told me that their arrival was inevitable despite my actions. I told it that I would fight and it told me that they were coming.

"Everything I just told you is in my report to Admiral Hackett," Shepard finished.

"Yes, we are very aware," said Fleet Admiral Folsom. "I read it several times. The fact is, Commander, that you and members of your team are the only who have come into contact with these Reapers. On that note, are you aware of what this looks like?"

"Like a madman just destroyed an entire system of batarians based on some mentally deranged fantasy," an admiral finished. "Do you want war with the batarians, Commander?"

"Admiral Lee," Folsom said, not even looking at his fellow admiral. "Please. This is a hearing, not a trial."

"Shepard needs to pay, regardless," Lee ended as he crossed his arms in front of him. "The batarians have been up our asses! Someone needs to pay and it might as well be Shepard."

"It's not a fantasy, Admiral Folsom," said Shepard. "I'm not crazy. The Reapers are real and they are coming. And while we sit in this building, they could be knocking on our doorstep!"

"Shepard's mental state has always been in question, especially after the events on Akuze," Major Antella quipped. "It's no wonder it's come to this, Admiral Folsom."

"I was cleared for duty a year after the attack, Major."

Folsom let out a heavy sigh. "Whatever the case, Commander, the Reapers aren't here right now. Instead, you are at this hearing, asked to answer for your actions. What do you have to say in your own defense?"

"I tried to alert the batarians. I tried my best to prevent their deaths. Do you think I would have done this on purpose? If there had been another way, I would've found it. And still, the Reapers are coming and we are wasting our time with this hearing."

"Is that it, Commander?" Folsom asked.

"Yes."

"Very well." Folsom closed his hands together in front of him on the desk. "I see that you have brought Councilor Anderson and Garrus Vakarian as your witnesses. Do either of them have anything to say?"

"I do," said Anderson as he stepped up to the pedestal to join Tiberius.

"Councilor, is there any reason why Commander Shepard shouldn't face a military trial?" asked the fleet admiral.

"Commander Shepard proved that he could think beyond humanity's gain when he ordered the Fifth Fleet to save the _Destiny Ascension_ during the Battle of the Citadel. Despite his work with Cerberus, he remained adamant that what he was doing was for the galaxy's greater good and not just for the good of humanity. He's a damn good soldier; otherwise the Council wouldn't have made him a Spectre. Everything Shepard's done has been selfless and for the safety of the galaxy. That's why he shouldn't face a military trial."

"I see," said Folsom with a nod. "And Mr. Vakarian? Do you have anything else to contribute to that anecdote?"

The turian cleared his throat, stepped forward and said, "I've worked with Shepard from the beginning of his investigation on Saren. He taught me that mercy was better than revenge: becoming an animal doesn't make you any better than the animal that wronged you. He's a good man, a damn good soldier and he certainly doesn't deserve this crap from anyone, especially from the Alliance."

Both Anderson and Garrus stepped back once their piece had been said. Fleet Admiral Folsom leaned forward in his chair again and placed his elbows on the desk.

"Thank you gentlemen," he said. "We will consider what you have said. Commander Shepard, there is one more witness who wished to speak on your behalf. Another old friend of yours, I understand."

Shepard heard the sound of clicking boots on the walkway behind him. He turned, unsure who he would see, half-afraid that it would be an old enemy – Finch, Dr. Wade, hell, even the Illusive Man – and instead saw a tall brunette woman in a skintight blue combat suit. She was staring at the floor, half of her shoulder-length hair swept over to one side of her face as she walked up the platform towards Shepard.

His breath caught in his lungs when she looked up at him and smiled.

"Hey there, Skipper. Long time, no see, huh?"

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the first chapter reviews! As always, reviews and comments are appreciated.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

This is the third chapter to my series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set after the Arrival DLC and leads into Mass Effect 3. Not sure how far into the story I will go.

*There are some spoilers ahead for ME3.*

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect, but I certainly wish I did.

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Three: Arrival

Tiberius couldn't believe it for a moment.

"Ash?" he asked, uncertain if he was afraid or thrilled that she was here.

"Second Lieutenant Williams heard you were coming," said Fleet Admiral Folsom. "She volunteered to speak for you."

Shepard couldn't believe any of it: the fact that she was here on Earth, that she was wearing what she was wearing (hadn't she always poked fun at those skintight suits?), that her hair was long and free instead of in that tight military bun, that she was now _Second Lieutenant_, or that she was even smiling at him.

He thought he had died all over again.

"Hey, Shepard," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake. He took it warily; still unsure if this was real or not.

Then he looked at her hand. Emblazoned on her suit and on the back of her palm was the Spectre logo.

Spectre. A Spectre?

Her eyes lit up when he finally looked her in the face.

"You're a…" he began.

"Spectre, yeah," she finished. "Second Lieutenant too."

"Your dad," he breathed, shocked and awed, "would have been so proud of you, Ash."

"Thanks, Skipper. I know he is."

"Are you the Spectre that's been assigned to the _Normandy_?"

She nodded. "I requested the council's permission to fly with you again."

"Why?"

Ashley shrugged. "You were right."

As if he wasn't shocked enough, Ashley Williams had just admitted that Shepard was _right_? At that very moment, his hope for the future couldn't have been any higher.

"About the Collectors and the Reapers," she tagged on.

Tiberius wanted to kick something.

Business? That was it? He was only right about the Collectors and the Reapers? What about Cerberus? What about…everything else?

Shepard cleared his throat to gather his composure again.

"How are you doing, Ash?" he asked her.

Déjà vu: it was their reunion on Horizon all over again.

"She's great, Commander," said Major Antella. "Now can we please get back to business and save the tea party for later?"

Tiberius seriously considered grabbing the major by his fancy dress blues and throwing him through the window.

Ashley nodded to the major and stepped up beside Shepard at the pedestal.

"Lieutenant, you served with Shepard on the original _SSV Normandy_, is that correct?" asked Folsom.

"Yes, sir."

"Do you have anything you would like to share with the Admiralty Board that would help the commander's case?"

"Nothing that hasn't been said before, Admiral," replied Ashley. "Shepard has always done the right thing. Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. He's proven that: as an Alliance soldier, as an N7 operative, as a Spectre, _and _while working for Cerberus. He made the hard choice. He even owned up to it. And if he says that the Reapers are coming then I believe him."

Several of the admirals whispered to each other again. Folsom's wrinkled face remained expressionless.

"You believe him, Lieutenant? You know that what you're saying puts you under fire right along with him. Think carefully before you restate that claim."

"I don't have to, sir," Ashley said.

There was an abnormal air of confidence in the way she spoke and the way she held herself, Shepard noted. This woman had changed, even from the last time he saw her on Horizon.

"I saw Sovereign myself. That wasn't a geth flagship. Over and over, Shepard has told us that the Reapers are coming. If Dr. Kenson's research said that the Reapers were coming through that specific relay, I know Shepard would've done something about it. And despite the loss of life, Shepard would've done everything he could have to find another way. The Alliance asks soldiers to make hard decisions, Admiral: Shepard's choice was one of them.

"You should be thanking him. You should have thanked him years ago. He should've gotten a damn medal for making the tough decisions that he did. But you turned him out and called him a deranged lunatic."

"Then what would you suggest we do with him, Lieutenant Williams?" Folsom asked. "The batarians have been hounding us and the Council to turn him over."

"Tell the batarians to calm down, breathe and look at the bigger picture. God knows they've got more eyes than us."

Shepard heard Garrus snicker behind him.

"Williams, your attitude is very unprof-" Antella began, but Ashley cut him off.

"If the Reapers are coming like Shepard says they are, we need every galactic race working together to bring them down. Including the batarians."

"Strange words coming from an outspoken xenophobe," Admiral Lee snipped.

"People change, Admiral," Ashley said, jutting her chin out.

"Noted, Lieutenant. Thank you, that'll be all for now," said Folsom. "Commander, give us a few minutes to talk amongst ourselves."

Shepard turned away from the admiral to look at Ashley.

Despite the bullshit-power hurricane he seemed to be the center of once again, Ashley's presence provided a sort of closure for Tiberius. She volunteered to be here. She didn't need to come. She didn't need to speak for him.

But she did.

Suddenly hope and the future, provided that everyone survived the Reaper onslaught, shined like two burning stars in the heavens.

"Lieutenant Williams," said Anderson, breaking Shepard away from his thoughts, "it's good to see you."

Ashley and the councilor shook hands. "Likewise, councilor."

"And congratulations. You've made us all very proud."

She smiled and thanked Anderson then turned to Garrus, who opened his arms wide and said with as much of a smirk on his mangled face as possible, "How about a hug for your favorite turian?"

"I thought we'd all be dead and buried the day a Williams daughter hugged a turian," she said playfully.

Ashley was about to embrace Garrus when the entire room shook violently. It lasted only a few seconds, but it was enough to make everyone's knees wobble.

"Earthquake?" Garrus asked.

"Possible," said Anderson. "But unlikely."

The councilor walked along the right side of the platform towards the Alliance soldier that guarded the door.

The admirals looked up from their conversation, shaken and confused, and then looked out the window. Suddenly, they all stood together at the same time. Rear Admiral Mikhailovich lifted a finger and pointed outside. Admiral Lee fainted.

"Holy shit," Major Antella exclaimed. "That's impossible-"

Before Shepard could look out the window, a shockwave rocked the building. The three arched windows creaked and groaned in protest, and then burst and blasted glass everywhere. Shepard instinctively grabbed Ashley and jumped to the floor, avoiding the jagged splinters of the broken window that flew towards them like bullets. A yelp of surprise came from her as she hit the ground.

Shepard's ears rang for a moment. It felt like someone popped off a stun grenade right next to his ear. Face pressed to the ground, Tiberius looked to his left and saw Garrus covering his head. Glass rained on them for what could have been hours.

Whatever else happened in the room and the building, Shepard wasn't able to hear.

Finally the deafness faded and his head cleared. He stood to his feet and helped Ashley up.

On his feet, Garrus brushed shards of glass from his suit. Ashley pulled pieces out of her hair and Shepard heard her mumble something like, "Last time I ever leave my hair down…"

"Is everyone alright?" he asked.

They nodded their confirmations silently, but Tiberius knew that they were both shaken up. Even he was.

He looked around them for clues to what was going on, but the first thing he noticed was that Anderson was nowhere to be seen. Neither were the admirals.

The entire right part of the platform had collapsed and where the window, wall and the ground level atrium had once been, there was nothing but rubble and burning bushes. The desk at the front of the chamber was gone, as well as its occupants. Somehow, the entire front part of the room had been blown away.

The commander had his theories, but every single one was laid to rest when he saw it:

A Reaper.

"They're here," said Garrus darkly. "The arrival has come."

It loomed in front of the building, floating peacefully. But its tentacle-like lasers were anything but peaceful. Shepard watched in horror as the buildings around them were cut in half.

But beyond the Reaper in front of them hovering over the city, dealing destruction, death and chaos, were hundreds more. They looked like colossal metal cephalopods – squid – Tiberius noted, with beaming red slits for eyes just above their tentacles. The sentient ships were a dark rusty color. Sovereign and Harbinger had looked the same. There was no doubt in Shepard's mind that these were Reapers.

The ground pitched and rolled violently, shaking what was left of the Alliance headquarter building until Tiberius thought it would collapse.

A plan of action formulated itself inside his head. It was a simple plan:

Fight to the death.

But before Shepard could die in glorious battle against humanity's most dangerous enemies, Shepard, Ashley and Garrus had to survive this attack and get off Earth.

"You two get back to the _Normandy_," he shouted over the noise of falling metal towers and screaming outside. "Get her in the air and out of here. I'm going to find Anderson!"

Shepard turned towards the platform ledge to see what was below, but a hand grabbed his arm before he could jump.

"I'm not losing you again, Skipper," said Ashley, her eyes hard and narrowed. "We'll get her in the air, but we're not leaving without you."

"Don't wait too long," Shepard replied.

There was more he wanted to say just in case he never saw her again, but-

Ashley's hand squeezed his arm tightly one last time. Garrus nodded at the commander's orders and pulled Ashley along with him back towards the building entrance.

_Now is not the time to reflect on my past relationships_, he scolded himself.

Shepard looked down the shaft that led to the fifth level ground floor. The admirals' desk lay toppled with the legs sticking in the air. And just beneath the desk, Shepard thought he saw feet.

Tiberius climbed over the ledge, put one foot in front of the other, and then slid down the slanted platform leading to the floor. At the base of the broken platform, he rolled, pitching his shoulder first and following with his hip. He popped up on his back foot, ran to the desk and lifted it up.

In a smoky haze, Shepard squinted to look at what lay beneath the table. He had seen some pretty gruesome things in his life and this sight was certainly on the list.

Broken, disproportionate bodies littered the rubble and chaos. The secretary's body had been cut in half by a fallen sheet of glass. She stared lifelessly up into the sky. Underneath the desk were three men, admirals, all dead. Further back, Shepard spotted Folsom, Lee and Antella's bodies.

Folsom's lower body was crushed beneath a chunk of the wall, his face and chest mutilated by shards of glass. Blood dripped from the wound where a spike of glass had gone through his neck. Lee's body was completely crippled, limbs out of shape, half his face soaked in blood. A boulder of rubble bathed in blood lay next to his head.

Antella had received the worst of it. His neck was broken; head twisted in an unnatural upward way, his shoulders forced out of their sockets, his leg broken clean in half, an iron beam rested on his chest, and bloody foam dribbled from his lips.

"Sh-Shepard!" A strangled, choking voice called his name.

Lying behind Folsom's corpse was Rear Admiral Mikhailovich. He was holding his leg. Several jagged glass spikes protruded from his chest and thigh. His left leg lay underneath his back, completely broken.

"Admiral!" Shepard ran to his side and went to his knees.

"Sh-Shepard," the admiral gargled. He coughed weakly and vomited blood at the same time. He spat more out and then wheezed one last time before saying, "S…save us, Commander. You're our on-only…hope…"

The rear admiral's head fell back to the floor. His eyes stared blankly at Shepard.

Tiberius checked his neck for a pulse, but found none. Bending his head over in defeat, Shepard cursed in every single language and word he could think of.

His hands shook with anger, and fury.

So much death…and it was only the beginning.

He stood to his feet, walked over to the dead Alliance soldier and grabbed his pistol and heat sinks. He made sure the pistol was still in working order, surveyed the room one last time for Anderson, and then jogged over to where the hole had been blasted into the building.

He peeked around the corner to his left, looking for the Reaper, but it was gone, leaving the area to deal more death and devastation.

The roofs around him were high and slanted to slough off snow during the winter. To Shepard's advantage, this made them easy to descend. On the roof of a building just below the fifth level, Shepard spotted Anderson, facedown and spread eagle. Tiberius hoped that Anderson was still alive.

He repeated the same sliding technique he had used going down the platform. When he reached Anderson, he knelt down beside him.

"Anderson?"

"Nngh."

Shepard breathed out an audible sigh of relief.

Anderson began to move, first bringing in his arms and raising himself up off the roof.

"What the hell happened?" Shepard asked.

"Give me a minute, Shepard," said Anderson, rubbing his head and lifting himself to his knees. "I'm too old for this shit… I fell off the platform and rolled out of the building. I couldn't catch myself in time and must've slid down the roof."

"We've got to call in the _Normandy _and get out of here."

"You're right," said Anderson. He stood to his feet shakily and then looked around him. His eyes widened. "I never… I can't believe it…"

Shepard stared out across the city once again: chaos and destruction, black smoke, red lasers, screaming women and children, falling buildings, enormous red-eyed ships hellbent on annihilation…

Garrus was right.

The arrival had come.

* * *

><p>*Insert ominous music here*<br>Thanks for all the reviews guys! You're awesome. Hope you liked this chapter. More to come!


	4. Chapter 4

This is the fourth chapter to my first series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set after the Arrival DLC and leads into Mass Effect 3. Not sure how far into the story I will go.

*There are some spoilers ahead for ME3.*

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect, but I certainly wish I did.

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Four: Escape

"Come on," said Shepard. "We need to get out of here."

Anderson nodded. "If we get off these roofs, we can make it to that building over there," he said, pointing to a low, flat-roofed building to their right. "Let's hope there's a radio inside."

Shepard and Anderson climbed and slid from roof to roof, making their way to the flat building. With one last slide and roll, Shepard popped up and looked into the sky to make sure there weren't any Reapers around them.

That was when he noticed the Alliance ships. Several battleships fired their guns at the Reapers, but they had little or no effect. One ship came too close; a red laser shot out from the Reaper's tentacle and sliced the vessel in half. It bobbed in midair for a moment then crashed into the street below.

"Shepard!" Anderson called. He waved him over to the roof ledge.

An Alliance soldier lay crumpled in a heap.

"Look at this," said Anderson, pointing out the blue, frosty-looking color on the soldier's face. Blood dripped from the man's nose and eyelids. "I've never seen anything like this before."

Shepard had. "It's a Scion," he said.

"A what?"

"A Reaper creation. Their guns can do things like this."

"The Reapers have landed troops? My god… We have to keep going."

Anderson took the soldier's pistol and walked towards the roof access. The door had been caved in and rubble was piled in front of the entrance.

"Look for another way down," said Anderson.

Shepard walked to the edge of the roof and took one last look across the city. Ground turrets shot helplessly at the Reaper that loomed above them. On the other side of the river were several more Reapers. Shuttles and battleships soared through the skies, the shuttles fleeing, the battleships fighting for a lost cause.

"Over here!" shouted Anderson.

Shepard joined Anderson in front of an air conditioning unit, following the councilor's finger to where it aimed. "There," he said, finger pointing at a hole in the roof. "We can get down through there."

As Tiberius and Anderson moved from cover, an out of control rocket zoomed overhead. Shepard watched it smash into a window.

"Look out!"

Two shots from Anderson's pistol drew Shepard's attention back to the hole and climbing out of that hole were two husks. They were like the husks on Horizon, the ones that Shepard had faced in the disabled Reaper while acquiring the IFF for the Omega-4 Relay: advanced, not just mindless, moaning beasts with blue eyes in their skulls.

Tiberius popped one of them in the leg and then the face. One more shot from Anderson and both husks were down.

"This isn't looking very good," Shepard said grimly.

"No it's not, but we have to keep going."

Anderson jogged to the ledge of the hole in the roof, looked down and then jumped. Shepard followed after him a few seconds later. His knee sank to the floor from the fall and Shepard pushed himself back up with his free hand.

"Shepard, the door," said Anderson, pointing his gun at the jammed sliding door.

Tiberius holstered his pistol and stuck his hand through the glowing green holograph that was the door's opening interface. He used his other hand to push the door apart, but it wasn't enough, so he pressed his back against the left slider and held it open.

"This way," said Shepard.

Anderson ducked underneath Shepard's arms into the next room. While Anderson continued forward, a barely audible clang caught Shepard's attention.

He let the door slide back and walked towards the place he had heard the commotion. Then he heard it again. It came from the vent. Out of the corner of his eye, a small figure moved away from the entrance. Shepard strode towards it, his fingers twitching to take the pistol out once again, but when he looked into the ventilation shaft, he didn't see a husk as he had expected.

Instead, there was a little boy; scruffy, no older than ten, with dirty clothes and eyes filled with fear.

"Hey," Shepard whispered. He knelt down next to the vent.

The boy backed away, deeper into the shaft.

"It's okay," he reassured the kid.

The boy looked at him with uncertainty in his expression. Should Shepard be trusted, should he not?

Tiberius' memory flashed back to his own younger days. He lived as an orphan on Earth, running through the slums and climbing through ventilation shafts much like this one.

The memory triggered an instant emotional attachment to the kid. He was so young. He was scared. He wanted to live obviously, and like almost any youngster, hiding and living went hand in hand.

"Everyone's dying," the boy stated in a tone that notified Shepard he was scared shitless.

Shepard leaned forward to say something, but the ground shook and distracted him. He looked behind him through the window and saw something that looked like a geth armature – only three times bigger. The boy gasped sharply.

Tiberius turned back to the kid.

"Come here. I need to get you someplace safe."

But as he said the words, the boy was already backing further into the shaft. He stopped for a moment when Shepard held out his hand and reached for the boy.

"Take my hand," he said gently, as if to coax the kid out of hiding, as if his hand were a mystical lure to draw him in.

"You can't help me," the boy replied.

Shepard pulled his hand back and started to formulate a different way to go about this when Anderson called his name.

"Shepard! In here," said Anderson, walking back through the unjammed door.

Tiberius turned his head for one moment and when he turned back, the boy was gone. He found it odd, but there was nothing he could do, so he stood to his feet and followed Anderson through the door.

On the other side of the room, Anderson tapped away at the keys of a console.

"This area is the factory district that leads to the docks," he said. He brought up something that looked like blueprints. "The whole area's been mapped out. Look here." Anderson pointed to a spot in the upper left corner. "There should be an emergency communications tower at this spot. If it's still standing, we can call in the _Normandy_."

"Let's go."

The room led them outside to a maintenance catwalk. They strode carefully and prayed that the catwalk wouldn't topple from all the upheaval. As they made their way to a series of vents strung along the maintenance roof, a Reaper came out of nowhere. A violent explosion rocked the building and flames blew up in front of Shepard just as he and Anderson ducked behind the vent.

"Move!" Anderson shouted as he climbed over.

Shepard hopped across the vent and took off after Anderson. As they ran, the Reaper laid waste to several of the navy cruisers docked in the river. One of its tentacles slammed an entire ship into the water, submerging it. Then the Reaper's lasers turned on a firing airship as it buzzed around its squid-like head. The whole thing burst into flames.

"How do you stop something so powerful?" Anderson asked over his shoulder while they ran.

"I don't know," was all Shepard could answer with.

"Let's get to the tower to call in the _Normandy _for pickup!"

There was a problem though, a wrinkle in the fabric of their plan. The path to the communication tower was gone. Instead, there was a long vertical drop in front of them, something Shepard would prefer to avoid. They could go around, but it would take too long.

A beam of red caught his attention. An Alliance air cruiser, already smoking and severely damaged, was caught in the Reaper's laser. There was a sharp, high-pitched noise followed by a blinding white light from the cruiser as its mass effect core overloaded. Shepard raised his arm to shield his eyes from the light, but then a thought occurred to him:

That mass effect core was going to blow and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Both Shepard and Anderson realized this at the same time and tried to make a break for it, back towards the maintenance catwalks, but the cruiser exploded. Ripples of force emanated from the destroyed ship's core and sent a wave of impact all around it.

Shepard's feet left the ground and his back slammed against a pipe. He grunted, the wind nearly knocked from his lungs, and then stumbled forward. The vertical sheet of fallen metal in front of him slipped just a little so it was diagonal. Both Shepard and Anderson slid down the grate, rolling and tumbling to their feet. Tiberius was just happy he wasn't dead and he still had his pistol in hand.

His bones felt on the verge of breaking and he was certain that he'd have some beautiful bruises to mark the occasion of fleeing the Reapers.

"Damn it," said Anderson as he picked himself up. "We have to find another way to contact them."

That was when Shepard realized that getting to the tower was not an option. He began to scour the ground, looking like a fool, for a radio of any kind.

A series of broken ship parts and fallen buildings made a bridge for Shepard and Anderson. Where did it go? Shepard had no clue. He didn't think it really mattered. They were just looking for a radio, a comm channel, or a tower: _anything_ that would let them get in contact with the _Normandy_.

Anderson led the way, jumping over a gap in the makeshift bridge. Tiberius sprinted as fast he could and leaped from one side to the other. When he landed, an eerie chill crept up his spine like it normally did when Reapers, Collectors and their minions were about to attack.

From the vantage point a ridged portion of debris, Shepard looked down where the path continued and nearly shit himself when he saw what he saw.

They were batarians, or what resembled batarians. They had been mutated nearly beyond recognition, four eyes in an oval-shaped head the only indicator of what the creatures had once been. Now they looked more like Reaper Scions with guns for arms and electric blue wiring running through their chests. One of them growled. It sounded like the moan of a rather large, rather angry husk.

A shot from one of the monsters' guns whizzed past Shepard's head. He rolled to the right and took cover next to Anderson then darted up and fired. It took more than two shots to bring each of the mutated moaning beasts down. He pushed out an empty thermal clip and continued forward.

The commander expected Anderson to ask what the hell those things were but he didn't. Finding a radio was Anderson's top priority. That, and survival.

Shepard now led the way along the mess of bobbing wreckage, up a plank and onto what appeared to be the remains of the old river dock. More shots were fired at him from ahead. He grabbed some cover behind a crate until the monsters reloaded and then stood and fired his pistol.

The things squealed as they went down, lights in their eyes dimming as they fell to the dock. Shepard looked to his right and saw more of them. He slid over the crate and ran to more cover. A few shots zinged against his arm. He winced, punched out the old thermal clip and took a deep breath before facing the beasts again.

Anderson was right behind him and delivered three swift shots to the mutated batarians' leg, gun hand and face. Tiberius finished off one and then together they finished off the last.

"Shepard, look! There's a radio over there!"

Sure enough, lying haphazardly in front of a fallen burning gunship was a radio, a box of thermal clips and a Mattock heavy rifle. While Anderson searched for the _Normandy_'s signal over the radio, Shepard picked up the heavy rifle and inspected it. Finding it satisfactory, he reloaded and then joined Anderson at the radio.

"_Normandy_, this is Anderson."

The other side crackled for a moment before a familiar voice chimed in.

"Anderson, what's your location?" asked Ashley.

Shepard was relieved to hear her voice.

He surveyed their surroundings and then replied, "By a downed shuttle at the dock. I'm activating a distress signal."

A distorted reply came over the radio that Shepard didn't understand.

"Lieutenant!" said Anderson, trying to get the channel to work.

More undecipherable babble crackled in the speaker.

"Damn it! We lost the signal." Anderson stood. He looked defeated.

"Let's hope that beacon does the job," said Shepard.

Anderson looked over Shepard's shoulder and then raised his pistol. "They're back!" He ran towards a crate. "Cover me."

The batarian creatures roared and bellowed as they neared. There were more than a dozen this time. Holding the position would prove to be a challenge. Unfortunately for the monsters, Shepard loved a good challenge.

He squeezed the trigger on his heavy rifle. Gunfire filled his ears as smoke filled the air. For every creature Shepard and Anderson shot down, more came after them. Another bullet clipped the commander's thigh. He ducked for cover, groaned from the pain and did his best to breathe and forget about it.

If this was where he was going to go down, it wouldn't be without a fight.

Shepard stood back to his feet, popped the thermal clip from the rifle, aimed, and opened fire on the nearing beasts.

Just as the monsters were about to close in on Shepard and Anderson, a warship flew over the top of the buildings in front of them. At first he didn't recognize the ship, but when it dived in to dish out damage with the main gun, Shepard realized it was the _Normandy_.

She'd been repainted in the Alliance regalia.

"About time!" Anderson gasped in relief.

There wasn't time to stop and gawk. With all the creatures blown to hell from the _Normandy_'s defenses, Shepard and Anderson made a break towards the lowering frigate. They hopped over some crates and wreckage from a boat and then ran up a high loading apparatus attached to the river's dock. _Normandy_'s cargo door opened. Lieutenant Vega and Ashley stood at the entrance with their rifles in hand.

"Welcome to the new _Normandy_," said Vega as Ashley pulled Shepard up into the cargo bay.

Ashley let off a few rounds at some stragglers. Anderson reached the top of the loading apparatus, but didn't jump in to join Shepard.

"I'm staying," said the councilor, out of breath.

An Alliance shuttled swooped down from the sky and came up alongside the _Normandy_.

"What are you talking about?" asked Shepard, letting his rifle fall to his side.

"Councilor Anderson!" shouted a soldier from the shuttle. "We're here to pick you up! We'll wait for you at the dock!"

Shepard eyed the councilor.

"I'm staying to gather Earth's forces, Commander," Anderson explained. "There has to be somewhere we can set up that the Reapers won't find us. Without a team on Earth, you'll lose out there."

"If you're staying, I'm staying," Shepard replied.

"Don't be stupid. We need you out there, Commander. Gather as many forces as you can – asari, turians, salarians, everybody. Don't worry about me. You just make an army. The _Normandy_ is an Alliance ship now and she's yours. Do us proud."

"We'll be in touch, Anderson," said Shepard.

"Yes," said the councilor. "Shepard. Good luck."

"You too."

With that said, Anderson turned and walked down the apparatus towards the Alliance shuttle. Shepard turned to Vega and Ashley and said, "Let's get out of here."

Vega hit the cargo bay door button and the gate closed. As the three of them walked towards the elevator, Shepard spoke to EDI.

"EDI, tell Garrus to give those Reapers hell with the guns. Get Miranda and the rest of the crew to the CIC. I want to debrief them on our new mission."

"Right away, Commander," the AI replied.

"Shepard, this is nuts," said Ashley as she strode with him.

"I know," he said, summoning the elevator. He smiled. "That's why it's going to work."

* * *

><p>That's it! At least for now. There might possibly be more to come. I haven't decided if I want to continue with my own version of ME3 or not.<br>Huge thanks to all of you for your reviews! You guys are so awesome!  
>And thanks to <em>KJake<em> for letting me know that Anderson isn't actually a councilor at the beginning of ME3. I totally missed that memo. Maybe when I'm bored I'll go back through the story and fix it. Who knows!  
>Thanks guys! Hope you enjoyed it.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

This is the fifth chapter to my first series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set after the Arrival DLC and leads into Mass Effect 3. Not sure how far into the story I will go.

*There are some spoilers ahead for ME3.*

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect, but I certainly wish I did.

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Five: Plan

Tiberius Shepard decided to visit his cabin before meeting the crew in the CIC. He needed to gather his thoughts and put his ideas together. More importantly, he needed to gather himself.

Pissed off wasn't even close to what he was feeling, but it was the best way he could put it. No one listened to him for two years and now that the Reapers had arrived, everyone was going to die. If they had just _listened_! If they had just _believed_ him, gone out on a limb and trusted him, maybe none of this would have happened.

He tossed his pistol on his desk and then the heavy rifle on his bed. He plopped down on the edge of the mattress, put his head in his heads and started to think.

The Reapers were here. They had somehow made it out of dark space and into the Milky Way Galaxy. Part of Shepard wanted to understand the Reapers; knowing the enemy was half the battle. He wanted to find out _how_ they had gotten through, especially after he had had stopped them from coming through the Citadel and through the alpha relay in the Viper Nebula. But as Vigil had told him on Ilos, it was his job to _fight_ them, not understand them. That, and Shepard didn't have time to wander the galaxy looking for answers.

Now he was in charge of retaliating against the attack on Earth.

_Just a tiny little responsibility_, he thought, laughing to himself.

He believed he could do it. To him, that was all that mattered.

But how would he go about it? How would he unite every single galactic race and stop the Reapers?

It wouldn't be easy, that much was clear from the last few years he had spent trying to get people to listen to his warnings. He would need everyone to work together. He would need unity. Given a common enemy, that didn't look like it would be too much of a problem. Giving the races a reason to unite beyond their _own_ survival…that would be the tricky part.

Turians, asari, salarians, krogan, rachni, volus, elcor, hanar, drell, batarians, quarians, vorcha, raloi, and humans. Hell, even the geth.

All of them. Had. To. Be. United.

The idea was clear in Shepard's mind. As he thought more about it, a plan formulated. He had friends in high places, even in low ones, who would be able to help him. If they didn't, it was their loss.

Citadel races first: turians, asari, and salarians chiefly. Those with impressive fighting forces. The councilors on the Citadel couldn't ignore him now, couldn't ignore the fact that the Reapers were here. From there, Shepard would do everything he could to get the rest of the races to follow.

The door to his cabin opened. He stood to his feet and looked to see whom it was.

Miranda, Garrus, Ashley and Vega walked in, eyes aimed directly at Shepard. Miranda crossed her arms and placed her weight back on heeled boot. Meanwhile Garrus, Ashley and Vega just plain stared at him like they were waiting for him to say something.

Instead, Miranda spoke first.

"An Alliance crew and two lieutenants, one of them a Spectre?" she asked. "You just let them do this?"

Tiberius shrugged. "At this point, being ex-Cerberus gets us nowhere. If we work with the Alliance, we have Intel and people that we didn't have before."

"I see your point, Commander," she said, "but how will the old crew deal with this?"

"Most of the Alliance crew that was assigned to the new _Normandy_ served with Shepard before he died," said Ashley, glancing at Miranda. "They won't have a problem taking orders from him."

"What about his XO?" asked Garrus. "She's a former Cerberus loyalist."

"Gee thanks, Garrus." Miranda rolled her eyes.

"We're soldiers, ma'am," Vega interjected. He looked at Miranda. "If we have orders from the ship's XO, we'll follow them."

The comm channel at Shepard's private terminal clicked on.

"Uh, Commander, sorry to be a party pooper here, but I'm still trying to get us off Earth. Where the hell are we going?" Joker asked.

The _Normandy_ shook and rumbled as soon as Joker had spoken. Shepard grabbed the railing in front of him and braced himself. The others grabbed onto the walls. Garrus slammed into the aquarium. A Thessian sunfish darted away.

"Joker, what's going on?" Shepard demanded.

"Evasive maneuvers, can't you tell?"

"Get us out of orbit! I don't care where we go as long as it's away from here!"

The comm channel shut off and silence permeated Shepard's cabin. He drew in a deep breath, let go of the rail and then exhaled.

"Do we have a plan, Shepard?" asked Miranda.

"Yeah. Fight and survive. I'm going down to the CIC right now to tell the crew what's going on. Hopefully by then Joker will have gotten us out of this mess."

Tiberius walked out of his cabin back into the elevator, keeping it open long enough for the other four to join him. He punched the button that would go down to the second deck and the Combat Information Center. Once the doors opened, Shepard was greeted with the eyes and faces of every member of the _Normandy_'s Cerberus and Alliance crew. Among them were the dedicated, hardworking members of his team.

They gathered around the galaxy map, waiting for him. Shepard stepped into the CIC and walked up the plank leading to the map dais. Miranda, Garrus, Ashley and Vega moved around the map to join the team and crew. It was so quiet, everyone was so intent on listening to him; Tiberius wasn't even sure if anyone was breathing.

Finally he stepped into place, put his hands behind his back and spoke for everyone to hear.

"As you all know, Earth has been attacked by the Reapers. We've been talking about this, waiting for this, and anticipating the arrival. Well it's finally. And it's our job to stop the Reapers from wiping out every galactic race. For those of you who were part of the Cerberus crew, you know as well as I do that this isn't just about the survival of humanity now: it's about the survival of every organic lifeform."

The _Normandy_ shook again. Joker swore violently and shouted something at EDI on the bridge. Shepard kept himself from chuckling by clearing his throat.

"We're going to unify the galaxy against the Reapers. It starts at the Citadel, provided it's still standing. Thessia, Palaven, Sur'Kesh, Tuchanka, and the Migrant Fleet will follow. There will be a few other stops in between, but these are the central areas we need to go to."

Shepard looked around at the people that surrounded the galaxy map. A few of them nodded their understanding, a few whispered to each other, a few with crossed arms shook their heads, whispering something that sounded like, "It's hopeless."

Shepard spotted the faithful members of his team – Miranda, Garrus, Jacob, Thane, and Jack – and then the new members: Ashley and Vega. Warm feelings of relief and hope flooded through him when he noticed that Ashley was smiling at him.

"If you haven't noticed, this is an Alliance frigate now, per Councilor Anderson's orders. I expect both the ex-Cerberus crew and the Alliance crew to work together efficiently and effectively.

"I would also like to introduce two new members to the _Normandy_'s team, Staff Lieutenant James Vega and Second Lieutenant Ashley Williams. Williams is also a Spectre, assigned by the Council and the Alliance Admiralty Board to this ship. They will be given respect, just like every other crewmember aboard.

Shepard paused for effect. He wanted the words to sink in, for everyone to know that he was serious.

"Does everyone understand?"

The Alliance crew snapped to attention, heels clicking, hands hoisted back in salute.

"Yes, sir!" they replied in unison. The remaining crewmembers nodded and eyeballed the Alliance members like they were nuts.

"Very well. Dismissed!"

Shepard stepped down from the dais and was immediately swarmed by a crowd of old familiar faces from the original _Normandy_, including Engineer Adams and Private Fredericks.

"Commander," said Adams, shaking his hand, "it's good to be back on the _Normandy_. I've already upgraded her systems a bit and I think-"

"Commander," snarled Joker from a commlink. "I need you on the bridge. _Five minutes ago_."

"I'll talk to you later, Adams," said Shepard, patting him on the back and dashing through the CIC towards the helm.

"How're we doing, Joker?" Tiberius asked, setting a hand on the helmsman's shoulder.

"Screwed as we'll ever be. Good thing this baby got upgrades from Cerberus _and_ the Alliance!"

Through the cockpit window, Shepard spotted the behemoth Reapers as they laid waste to Vancouver Central Station. Joker flew the frigate on a dime, swerving, pitching and yawing to avoid the Reapers' lasers, tentacles and attention.

"EDI, what's the ship's status?"

"We are functioning at optimal capacity. There is an electrical fire on the engineering deck. Engineers Donnelly and Daniels are taking care of it. No hull breaches have been detected. Thrusters are online. Garrus has returned to the main gun and is 'giving the Reapers hell.' FTL drive is engaged and ready to go once we are out of orbit. What is your preferred destination, Commander?"

"Hagalaz," said Shepard. Outside the window, a shuttle went up in flames. "It's time to get the old team together."

Joker dodged a laser. Instead of hitting the _Normandy_, it ripped through a skyscraper.

"Hell yeah, Commander. Hell yeah," he said approvingly.

* * *

><p>I wasn't originally planning on doing this, but after all the reviews I couldn't give up. Thanks so much for all the encouragement and advice. You guys are rad. More to come!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

This is the sixth chapter to my first series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set after the Arrival DLC and leads into Mass Effect 3. Not sure how far into the story I will go.

*There are some spoilers ahead for ME3.*

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect, but I certainly wish I did.

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Six: Ashley

Ashley.

He had avoided her since the meeting in the CIC. Tiberius wasn't sure why, but he had.

After talking with Joker, Shepard had been immediately bombarded again by the Alliance crew. It was the same kind of greeting he'd had between his old friends.

"You were dead."

"I got better," he responded, like death was just an infection and easy to overcome. This casual reply always made him feel good. He liked the sound of it.

After reminiscing with the Alliance crew and catching up with Adams, Miranda grabbed his attention. She asked about sleeping arrangements for the new additions to the ship's roster and then grilled him with questions about how an Alliance frigate ran. Despite the grave nature of the overall situation, Shepard wanted to laugh at her lack of knowledge for Alliance protocol.

By the time Miranda was done with him, Joker had brought them safely out of orbit and into the Local Cluster, and then made the jump to Hagalaz through the system's mass relay. They were running at the speed of light towards the Hourglass Nebula.

This gave him time to catch up with Kelly Chambers.

"I went through the new crew's profiles," she said to him. "You worked with most of them on original _Normandy_, didn't you?"

Tiberius nodded.

"Lieutenant Vega is a new addition though. I talked to him for a moment. He was friendly, if not a little rushed and out of sorts. His record is bothextensive and impressive. James will make an excellent new addition to the team."

Shepard noticed when she called the staff lieutenant "James". Knowing Kelly, she wanted to be on a first name basis with everyone.

"I read Lieutenant Williams' file," she continued. "Her record over the last few years is remarkable, at least everything that was actually on there. It appears though that a lot of her work was classified, ."

"Classified?" Shepard asked. His interest piqued. He knew that Ashley's work on Horizon was shrouded in mystery, but he didn't know there was more to what she had been working on.

"Very," said Kelly with a nod. "But besides that, I found her psych profile very interesting."

"How so?"

"It warned of slight xenophobia and mild Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As for the xenophobia, I'm sure that's an old hat. She and Garrus were quite friendly when they first boarded the _Normandy_. But as for the PTSD… Her record shows nothing for a period of four months after the _Normandy_'s crash and your…death."

"What are you saying, Kelly?"

"I'm simply saying that Lieutenant Williams must have taken your death pretty hard if she wound up with a mild case of PTSD. Something to be on the lookout for while in the field. I'd hate to see anyone get hurt because of painful memories that can be worked through with proper therapy."

_Four months out of the job_, Shepard thought after dismissing himself.

Ashley had told him on Horizon and in her message that his death was hard for her to handle, but four months gone? Ashley was a soldier to her core and Tiberius knew she wouldn't give up her job for anything. If his death had hit her hard enough to take her out of action for a period of time…

He had been avoiding her, but what he really needed to do was talk to her.

But what about? How was he supposed to start a conversation where the last time he had talked to her she had called him a traitor? Where did he begin? Considering there were much larger things to worry about – like the Reapers – figuring out his long-gone love life seemed inconsequential.

Ultimately it would be if no one survived.

"Commander," said a light, British voice behind him.

Chakwas stood with her arms crossed, an equally cross look on her face.

"Hey, doc."

"You are coming with me, Commander," said Chakwas. "You should have gone to the med bay first rather than to your cabin."

That was when Shepard remembered the injuries he had received while fleeing Earth. They didn't hurt, at least not that much; they were just nicks, bruises and some burning from shots fired at him.

"Yes, mom," he said, following her into the elevator and onto the second deck. Chakwas smiled at him.

"Let me have a look."

As the elevator descended, Chakwas checked him for serious injuries. Deciding that he didn't have any, she said, "A Medi-gel application and some rest should help."

Shepard let himself be dragged to the med bay. Along the way there, Shepard overheard Crewmen Hawthorne and Goldstein putting a few Alliance crewmembers through the _Normandy _SR-2's paces. He was encouraged at the sight of everyone working together.

Inside the med bay, Chakwas sat him down on a bed.

"So, Shepard," she said as she prepared the Medi-gel, "Lieutenant Williams is with us."

Tiberius had a good idea where this was headed. Of all people who flew on the original _Normandy_, Chakwas was one of the few who knew about Shepard and Ashley.

"Yes. She'll be a valuable asset to the team."

"Or prove to be a dangerous distraction. For you, Shepard."

The commander looked at the small, silver-haired doctor in front of him. Her advice to him throughout the years had been that of a friend, and at times, had a motherly aspect to it. He trusted Chakwas and Chakwas trusted him. For her to bring caution to the table on the subject of the newly minted Spectre was…_very_ motherly.

"I know, doc. But there's a lot more at stake here this time."

Chakwas was quiet for a moment as she applied the Medi-gel. Then she said, "You're right. And that's where you will have to decide."

"On what?" Shepard asked.

The doctor grinned. "I leave that for your own discovery. Now lay down and get some rest."

Tiberius shook his head. "Sorry, doc. I'd love to, but there's too much to do."

"Shepard, you're going to overexert yourself if-"

The commander hopped to his feet. "Don't worry. I can take care of myself."

She laughed and said, "I was afraid you would say that," before relenting and pushing him out of the med bay.

He toured deck, answering the questions and requests of the crew. Gardner came by to tell him that the electrical fire on the engineering deck had been taken care of and everything was back to working order. Garrus pulled him into the main battery and gave him a rundown of what damage had been done to the guns during their escape from the Reapers.

"We'll need a few replacements," he said. "Nothing serious. We can repair at the Citadel. With all the extra crew, it shouldn't take long."

"Good," said Tiberius. "Show me what you need."

The turian handed Shepard a datapad. While Shepard's eyes scanned over the list, Garrus nervously broached the subject of Ashley's presence.

"You going to be okay with her onboard?"

"What is it with everyone asking me about her?" Shepard asked, voicing a concern that had been egging him since his chat with Chakwas.

"Hey, don't get your shirt in a pile, Commander."

"It's 'panties in a wad'," Shepard corrected. "And why not?"

"I'm expressing concern for you. Take it or leave it. We turians don't normally grant that kind of power to aliens."

Shepard sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead, and set the datapad down. "Fine. What are your concerns?"

"That you'll end up hurting Williams, and then I'll have to throw your ugly ass out of the airlock."

_Kelly wants me to look out for her health, Chakwas doesn't want her to be a distraction, and Garrus doesn't want me to hurt her. Mixed messages much?_ Shepard thought to himself.

"I'll do my best not to hurt her, Garrus. I promise."

"Don't promise me," he said. "Talk to her. Get everything out. You'll both feel better. The tension between you two during the hearing was killing me."

Garrus turned back towards his console, thus notifying Shepard that the conversation was over.

"We'll get the parts when we dock at the Citadel," Shepard mentioned over his shoulder as he left the main battery.

Back out in the open, Shepard breathed freely. As if there wasn't enough on his mind with the Reapers, add to that the fact that everyone was in his business with Ashley. Scuttlebutt could spread like wildfire on a ship and he preferred to keep that to a minimum.

He wanted to talk to Ashley, 'get everything out' as Garrus had said, but again, he didn't know how to go about it. Pushing the thought from his head, he decided that he needed a break. He crept to the elevator, back up to the CIC, and ducked into the armory. Cleaning his gun had always been therapy for Shepard. It was just the thing to get his mind off the mess that was his life at the moment.

"Jacob," he said as he walked in.

The former Alliance marine and Cerberus operative stood with another man in the armory, handing him a rather large gun. Shepard nearly choked to death when he realized that the man was James Vega and Jacob was showing off Shepard's Revenant assault rifle.

Without his helmet and armor on, James Vega was a studly man. He wasn't quite up to par with Shepard's physique, handsomeness or charm, but he was well on his way to being the ladies' heartthrob aboard the _Normandy_.

When Tiberius spoke Jacob's name, he looked over at Shepard. His face dropped and he looked like he had just wet himself. Shepard crossed his arms while James set the Revenant on the table.

"I was just showing him-"

"You know that no one but me fondles Charlotte," said Shepard sternly. "You get the _privilege_ of taking care of her when I'm gone."

"Commander, you named your gun _Charlotte_?" asked James. "How'd she get that name?"

Shepard stared hard and narrow at the staff lieutenant.

"You're not supposed to ask," Jacob whispered to James.

"Ah. Well. Shit."

"Uh, so what can I do for you, Commander?" Jacob nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"I was going to come clean Charlotte."

"She's already clean, Commander. I took care of her."

"I wanted to do it myself."

Jacob grabbed the cleaning gear from underneath his workbench and set it out for Shepard. "There you go," he said, obviously avoiding the assault rifle that lay on the table.

Shepard casually strode the rest of the way into the armory, sat down on the table and grabbed Charlotte.

"Commander," said James, excusing himself.

As soon as the staff lieutenant was gone, Jacob apologized.

"I'm sorry, Shepard. He came in asking for a loadout then he saw Charlotte and wanted to check her out. He didn't know that she was yours, I swear."

Shepard laughed while his hands went to work.

"Relax, Jacob, it's fine. Really. Just remember-"

"You're the only one who touches her. Got it."

Jacob turned back towards his workbench. Shepard slid back the pins to detach the lower stock from the receiver and the rest of the stock.

"Commander?"

Shepard sighed. _Not again! _"Yeah, Jacob. What's up?"

"Why _did_ you name your Revenant Charlotte?"

"Because I liked the name," he replied cryptically. He hoped the answer would suffice.

Clearly it didn't.

"It's not after a woman or anything? Come on, Shepard, I'm not dumb, and you can trust me. We're on the same team."

"Alright," he said. The only thing Shepard really wanted to do was just clean his baby, but he could entertain Jacob for at least this one question. He continued taking apart his gun as he spoke.

"I was born in Charlotte, North Carolina back on Earth. Small town compared to the rest of the world. Had no parents, grew up in an orphanage with other kids. I hated it. So I left. Took a shuttle to DC, where I met the Tenth Street Reds. Everything else is public record."

"But why Charlotte? Why not something else?"

"I never forgot where I came from. It's part of who I am. The name Charlotte reminds me of what I'm fighting for: a home that I never had but billions of others do."

"Wow," said Jacob. He shook his head. "You named your gun just to remind you of a past that you hated? Shepard, I will never understand you."

"You should consider yourself lucky, Mr. Taylor."

"And why's that?"

"Very few people know where I'm from. Let's keep it that way, huh? Wouldn't want to ruin my mysterious reputation."

Jacob chuckled. "I got your back, Commander. This conversation never happened. Just out of curiosity, who else knows?"

Shepard gulped. To hide his reaction he slammed the cleaning rod down the barrel of his gun.

_Ashley_.

"Like I said," Shepard lied. "Very few people."

The door to the armory opened. Shepard half-feared it would be Miranda, come to find him so she could grill him again about protocol. But it wasn't Miranda who entered the armory; instead, it was the woman Tiberius had been dodging the last few hours.

It was Ashley.

"I was told to come see you for a weapons loadout," she said, staring straight at Jacob.

Jacob, who knew nothing of Shepard and Ashley's history together – other than unconfirmed scuttlebutt from the ground team on Horizon – snapped into work mode.

"Yeah. Here, let me get you started."

He pulled a datapad from his workbench and then scratched his head as he waited for Ashley's weapon preferences to load. Shepard didn't want to be rude, so he looked up from cleaning Charlotte to smile politely and say, "Hello, lieutenant."

"Skipper," she replied, a ravishing smile dancing across her lips and lighting her chocolate eyes.

Shepard cursed himself and went back to his work. She just _had_ to smile at him…

He heard Jacob list off a weapon loadout for Ashley. "So, it says here that you prefer the M-15 Vindicator battle rifle, the M-97 Viper sniper rifle, Phalanx heavy pistol, and the M-22 Eviscerator shotgun. Is all of this correct?"

"Correct."

"I thought Spectres got special equipment."

"We do, but we have to buy it. And I don't make enough on a second lieutenant's salary to drop a few hundred thousand creds each time I visit the Citadel. So, I work with what I have."

"Any specifications on your weapons, ma'am?" Jacob asked.

"My Vindicator's thermal clips sometimes don't eject properly or get jammed in the chamber. Can you fix that?"

"No problem," said Jacob cheerfully, happy to have something to do. "Just bring it up whenever you want it fixed and I'll get it done for you."

"Thank you, Mr…"

"Taylor," Jacob replied, holding out his hand for Ashley and they shook. "Jacob Taylor. I was on Eden Prime same time you were. Second ground team under Major Izunami. I'm sorry about the loss of your squad, ma'am."

"It was a long time ago, Mr. Taylor."

"Doesn't help me sleep at night."

"Me either," Ashley admitted. "Well, anyways, thanks for your help."

"You know, I could go get your rifle right now and start working on it."

"I can bring it down-"

"It's the least I can do for you, ma'am."

Tiberius looked up to see Jacob leave without another word to either of them. Then it was just Ashley and Shepard staring at each other. Shepard didn't know what to say or even how to start saying it.

Ashley walked past Tiberius to inspect the other guns laid out on the table and Jacob's workbench. She picked up a heavy pistol, checked it and then put it back down. Shepard went back to cleaning Charlotte.

"After everything that's happened, you don't have anything to say?"

_Damn, here it comes_, he thought.

He set his Revenant aside, slid off the table and looked Ashley in the eyes. This conversation was apparently going to happen, whether he wanted it to or not.

"I have a lot I want to say, Ash, but I'm not quite sure how to say it."

He was also trying to keep everything his team had told him in mind.

"Skipper, if there's one thing I know about you, you've always been a man of words. You don't have an excuse not to come up with the words to say right now."

She crossed her arms and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

Shepard was so unused to seeing Ashley like this. Her skintight suit left little to his already overworked imagination. His eyes moved up her body to her hair. It had always been in a bun at the back of her neck. The only time he could recall seeing it down was the night before Ilos, and even then, she had pinned it right back up immediately afterward. But her hard brown eyes glared at him and brought him back to the topic at hand.

"Okay," he said. He planted his palms on the table and said, letting the bitterness flow through his words, "back on Horizon, you didn't give me a chance to explain."

"Yes, I did."

"No you didn't, just like you're doing now," he growled. "Ash, when the _Normandy_ went down, I got Joker in an escape pod and ended up spaced. My suit malfunctioned, pressure rose and I suffocated to death before I entered Alchera's atmosphere. I was going fast enough to make heat entry. I was dead."

"I knew about that part."

"Did you know that Liara went looking for my body? That the Shadow Broker had found it and was going to sell it to the Collectors? Liara lost her friend Feron to the Shadow Broker's agents. Cerberus said that they could bring me back and since she had nowhere else to go, she handed me over to them. I spent the next two years being rebuilt in some godforsaken laboratory on a Cerberus station. Do you think if I had been alive, I would've _tried _to get in contact with you? Hell yeah I would've."

Ashley stared expressionless at Shepard.

"And do you know what I went through when you died?" she asked. "Garrus and I were the only ones at your memorial, and even after that, Garrus went off on some mission to right the galaxy's wrongs. I tried everything I could for four months to get the Alliance brass to look for your body, but the Council advised against it. I pushed through bureaucracy shitholes for weeks just trying to get you back. Everyone else gave up. I didn't. Not once."

"You called me a traitor on Horizon, Ash. Don't forget that. How do you go from 'unwilling to give up' on me to a low-blow like that?"

"You were working with Cerberus!" she said, her voice rising. "We both saw what they did on Edolus, Binthu, and Nepheron. They're the ones responsible for the deaths of your unit on Akuze! They killed Admiral Kahoku! And you were standing there on Horizon pretending like they were the good guys."

"They weren't and they aren't," said Shepard, straightening. "But they were the only ones doing anything about the Collectors. I wasn't going to let colonies disappear. If I had another choice, if there had been any other way to do it, I definitely would not have chosen Cerberus."

"You still could've walked away."

"If I wanted colonists to go missing, yeah. If I wanted the Reapers to succeed, yes, I could've walked away. But I don't want the Reapers to succeed, Ash."

"This isn't just about the Reapers, T, this is about _us_," she snapped.

Shepard massaged his forehead with the palm of his hand to calm himself. He didn't want to risk saying anything stupid and ruining everything.

"Ash, what do you want from me? An apology? I will apologize to you every day for the next hundred years if it makes you feel better. You want me to feel like shit? Good job, you already succeeded with that one."

Her expression went from aggravated to severely pissed off.

_Shit_. _Not the right thing to say._

"An apology would be nice," she said through half-gritted teeth, "but so would a little understanding. Obviously, you're not capable of the latter."

"Neither are you."

_ Shit! Digging your own grave buddy!_

Ashley sighed. "Look, Shepard. The world is going to all to hell right now with the Reaper invasion. We may die tomorrow. I just know that I don't want to die angry with you. I just don't want you to die, period. Right now, we have our differences, but I'm not mad at you anymore."

He crossed his arms. "I'm not either. So what do you say? We live another day, we talk about it more? Figure this out, whatever the hell this is?"

Ashley nodded and smiled at Shepard. "I can do that, Skipper."

"Good," he said. Ashley walked behind him, nothing more to be said, and the door hissed as she walked out.

"Ah shit," said a gravelly turian voice.

Shepard turned towards the door to see Chambers, Garrus, Chakwas, Jack, Miranda and Jacob standing outside the armory with guilty looks on their faces. Ashley just walked right past them, ignoring them as if they weren't there.

If there was ever a time to facepalm, it was then.

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><p>Well this was certainly fun to write. And a pain in the rear. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for the reviews, as always!<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

This is the seventh chapter to my first series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set after the Arrival DLC and leads into Mass Effect 3.

*There are some spoilers ahead for ME3.*

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect, but I certainly wish I did.

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Seven: Broker

"What's at Hagalaz?" asked Lieutenant Vega. "Besides boiling oceans and stormy weather?"

"The Shadow Broker's base of operations," replied Miranda.

"The… No shit? The Shadow Broker? You know where the Shadow Broker's base is?"

The lieutenant glanced at Shepard, then at Ashley, then at Miranda, and then back at Shepard. Tiberius didn't think it was possible for a man to look more confused.

"You've had this information for how long? And you didn't let the Alliance know? He's been a thorn in their side for the last few decades!"

Shepard promptly ignored Vega's question. He tapped Joker on the shoulder and said, "Get us in close. We'll take the shuttle from here."

The helmsmen nodded. "We'll be here when you get back, Commander. Not going anywhere."

"How could you keep this from the Alliance?" James persisted.

"I have my reasons," Tiberius replied with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

Even Ashley fumed at Shepard. "They better be _damn_ good reasons. You said that bastard sold your corpse to the Collectors."

Shepard just nodded. "He tried to, yes." He enjoyed watching the two Alliance lieutenants get hot and bothered about the situation. If they only knew who the Shadow Broker really was, they wouldn't be so irritated. Well, Ashley might, but that would be for different reasons entirely.

"T, I don't understand," said Ashley. "How could you-"

"Shepard, who are you taking with you down to the base?" Miranda cut in.

Every once in a while Shepard found himself in the odd situation of appreciating Miranda's more annoying talents like getting straight down to business. Such was one of those rare moments.

"You and Garrus are going in with me. Get Garrus down to the cargo bay in five."

"Right away," said the Australian-accented beauty. She flicked her wrist at Shepard in a forced salute and then stormed off to the elevator to pick up Garrus and head to the bay.

"We're not coming with you?" Ashley asked, motioning to herself and Lieutenant Vega.

Shepard stared blankly at the both of them. What, because they were Alliance they expected special treatment? Ashley expected special treatment because…?

Tiberius shook his head as he left the bridge to make his way to the elevator. "No," he said, "you're not."

"And why the hell not?" Ashley asked, strutting right beside him. "I'm a Spectre. By the Council's orders, I'm supposed to keep my eye on you."

If there was one thing Ashley hadn't lost in two years, it was her ability to stand up to Shepard's orders. Especially if it meant she didn't get her way. One thing Shepard loved and similarly hated about her was her steady spitfire attitude that allowed such standing up to occur. Tiberius continued towards the CIC, brushing past both Alliance soldiers. At the elevator he faced Ashley and Vega. The staff lieutenant's arms were crossed indignantly and Ashley's face was a brightening shade of red.

"It'll all make sense when we get back. See you in a few."

With that, he ducked into the elevator and punched the destination button for the cargo bay before he could hear any more protests.

"Shepard, I have detected two shuttles in the Shadow Broker's shuttle bay," EDI informed him. "Life signs indicate that there are twenty armed men spread throughout. I have scanned the atmosphere and found a ship registered to Eclipse mercenaries. What do you wish to do?"

"Eclipse? Do you know who hired them?"

"I have not found sufficient information in their data banks to answer that. The employer's tracks were well covered. However, I have picked up on some of the mercenaries' communications. Many of them are making references to an asari, though I do not think they have found Dr. T'Soni as of yet."

Shepard groaned. Why did things like this always have to happen?

"They could be talking about Liara. If that's the case, she's in trouble and we don't have time to waltz in there," said Shepard. His mind immediately began racing for a plan of attack.

"I can seize control of the Eclipse vessel if you wish, Commander," EDI reminded him.

The fact that the AI could override an enemy ship's systems made Shepard giddy. With a few words from the commander, EDI's cyberwarfare capacities could cripple the Eclipse vessel. It was completely unfair to the opponent, but having an edge like that was what had kept Shepard and the rest of the team alive during the raid on the Collector base.

"Hold off," Shepard replied. "With the stealth systems engaged, they shouldn't be able to find us. Tell Joker to pull out to a safer distance unless we call in for support."

"Of course, Commander. Good luck."

EDI's comm link switched off just as the elevator dropped into the cargo bay. The doors opened and he found Garrus and Miranda loading up for the jaunt to the Shadow Broker base.

He couldn't look at either of them the same anymore. Knowing that they eavesdropped on his conversation with Ashley felt something akin to betrayal. Especially with Garrus. The turian was his friend. Friends were supposed to talk about things face to face, not listen in behind each other's backs. But what could Shepard do? Send the whole group of snoops to the brig? For as much as he wanted to, just to assert that his private business was his own, he needed everyone on the _Normandy_ at work.

Tiberius decided to play it cool and zero in on his 'Commander' mode, at least until the job was done and Liara was safely onboard the _Normandy_.

Garrus collapsed his Avenger assault rifle and clipped it to his back. Miranda checked the sights on her SMG and then automatically touched a hand to the back of her neck, checking to make sure her amp was secure.

"EDI just told me that there are Eclipse mercs crawling all over the base," said Tiberius as the three of them walked towards the new Alliance-colored Kodiak. The shuttle driver bounced up into the cockpit and opened the doors for them. After Shepard told the driver to take them to the base's shuttle bay, the three of them climbed inside the Kodiak. "She said that they were talking about an asari. At this point in time, we don't know if they were talking about the employer or Liara. For now we will assume that Liara has been compromised."

"What's the plan, Commander?" Miranda asked.

Engines roared to life and the Kodiak lifted off as the cargo bay door opened. The shuttle lurched forward and to steady himself, Shepard propped a hand against the ledge of his seat.

"Avoid the mercs if we can. If that's not possible, we can try and figure out what they're doing here. If it comes to a fight, give them hell. Grab Liara and get out of here. That's the main objective."

Both Garrus and Miranda acknowledged the plan with nods of determination. The ride from the _Normandy _to the base was bumpy and choppy at best, with all three of them grabbing onto and holding something by the time the shuttle touched down. Doors opened and they hopped out.

Shepard itched to get his finger on Charlotte's trigger. The possibility of a fight buzzed through his veins.

At the back of the shuttle bay was a crowd of mercs gathered around a large crate. Four were outfitted in black and yellow Eclipse hardsuits. One, a batarian, wore Rosenkov heavy Titan armor and looked vaguely familiar to Shepard.

The Eclipse mercs drew their weapons upon sight of Tiberius and his squad. Miranda and Garrus whipped out their own guns in retaliation. Shepard ignored the itch in his fingers to grab the Phalanx heavy pistol from his side and pop off each of the bastards. The batarian, appearing to be in charge, looked up from a datapad in his hands and squinted as the trio approached.

"Alliance military?" asked the batarian, still squinting. He pointed to the Kodiak, the Alliance symbol emblazoned on its thrusters and panels. "What the hell are you guys doing out here? Wait… Shepard?"

Both groups were now standing a few feet from each other. That was when Shepard finally recognized the batarian.

"Anto?"

"Last I heard, you blew a batarian star system to hell," the guard rattled. "Good for you! Stupid bastards think colonizing a world will make us seem civil. Batarians are meant for blood. Not for sucking up to the damned Council."

At least one batarian in the galaxy didn't hate Shepard for blowing up a colony. Still wasn't very reassuring.

"What are you doing here? Aria let you go or something?" asked Shepard, referring to Omega's asari ruler.

"No, no," said the four-eyed anthropoid. He glanced over his shoulder and snapped at the Eclipse. "Put your guns down, you idiots. This is Shepard! Aria owes him!"

The mercs hesitantly put down their guns. Tiberius motioned for Garrus and Miranda to do the same. They each gave him warning looks as they lowered their respective weapons.

"Anyways," Anto continued, "the Shadow Broker's been sending agents to Omega for years. Pisses Aria off every single time. We've caught most of them. Last one we caught didn't even know it was the Shadow Broker who hired him. Stupid turian. Finally caught the last one a few days ago. Interrogated him until he was bleeding out of every orifice. Aria wasn't having a good day. Pointed us in this direction and here we are."

"For what exactly?" asked Garrus.

"We're gonna blow this little shit's entire operation to hell," Anto replied with a guttural guffaw. "Aria's paranoid already, but now she's out to get everybody before they get her. We've already planted three bombs throughout the base. Whoever the Shadow Broker is, he won't survive the shitload of explosives we've got set up."

The batarian tossed his datapad to the merc on his left.

"What about you, Shepard? Got a little business to do with the Broker too?"

Tiberius found himself in a predicament…again. He could employ his charms and lie to Aria's right-hand man or he could just end the bullshit and put a bullet through the batarian's head. But he also didn't want to upset Aria in case one of the mercs was able to get a message out. For as much as Shepard disagreed her methods, she could prove to be a powerful ally in the war with the Reapers…

Bluffing seemed like the better option.

As long as it worked long enough to get Liara out safely.

"I'm here to settle a score," Shepard lied. "The Broker planned to sell my body to the Collectors when I died. I'm just returning a favor."

"Never knew you to be the revenge type, but I guess people change. Heard about your fight with the Collectors. That was some nasty shit," said the batarian. He paused for a moment and stared pensively at Tiberius. "Alright, Shepard. We'll give you ten minutes. After that, you have five minutes before the bombs detonate. Any longer than that and this place is your newest grave. I've got a job to do and I sure ain't going to drop it for you."

"Understood," the commander replied. "Tell your mercs to stand down. We're headed in."

"I'll radio ahead. They'll let you through."

With a nod in the direction of the base entrance, the batarian sent Shepard, Garrus and Miranda off. Before the door closed behind them, Shepard heard Anto give orders to the Eclipse mercenaries to let them in.

In the labyrinth of halls, Miranda hissed at Shepard. "What the hell are you thinking, Commander? Anto could blow the whole base to pieces right now!"

"No, he won't."

"How do you know?" asked Garrus, unclipping and unlocking his Avenger from his back.

"Gut feeling?" Miranda mocked.

"Anto's right. Aria owes me after I helped her with Patriarch," Shepard replied. "He wouldn't do anything to make her mad. That's our reassurance. Right now, let's just get to central operations and get Liara out of there."

"And our escape?"

"We'll worry about that once we have Liara with us."

"All this trouble over one asari," said Garrus. "I liked T'Soni when she was with us, Shepard, but is she really worth it?"

"I hauled your ass off Omega," Shepard bit back. "Don't forget that. I'll do whatever it takes to keep my people safe."

All conversation ended when the squad came upon a group of mercs. They were armed to the teeth: barriers, shotguns, ML-77 grenade launchers, and threatening stares. There were six of them posted just outside the hallway leading into central operations. On top of a crate of thermal clips was another box. Upon closer investigation, Shepard recognized a red-numbered timer and a console.

The box was one of the bombs.

The asari merc in charge of the outpost glared at Shepard. "You the human we're supposed to let through?" she sniveled.

"Yeah."

She laughed. "Good luck getting in. We've already lost four to that corridor's automated defenses. Shadow Broker's as bloody paranoid as Aria. There's also a lock on the central operations door. Unless you're a quarian, good luck hacking through that shit."

The three of them looked at each other for a moment and then stepped forward.  
>"Can you open this door?" asked Shepard. "We're going in."<p>

The asari shrugged and chucked her shotgun against her shoulder. "Your funeral pal. Shelon, let the poor bastard in."

A salarian tech leaned over the door's console and plugged away. Three seconds later, the door opened with a chirp and a hiss. Shepard grabbed Charlotte from his back and unbolted her locks, letting her slide into his hands. Just in case. Hopefully Liara wouldn't turn the automated defenses on them.

Shepard, Garrus and Miranda passed through the door into the hallway leading to central operations. As soon as they were all inside, the asari howled with laughter.

"You stupid bastard! You think we're going to let you live? We know who you are, Shepard. Eclipse for life! Hope you enjoy burning in hell!"

Garrus cursed violently at the asari and Miranda popped a few shots between the sliding doors before they shut.

"Damn it! Now what?" Miranda asked once they were trapped inside.

"Same thing!" Shepard hollered at her. As if he hadn't given the same orders before. "Get Liara and get out."

The three of them proceeded to central operations, guns raised in case of any surprises. On their way to the door on the opposite side of the hall, they passed the four bodies that the asari Eclipse had told them about. Heavy turret fire and shredder rounds combined to tear through the mercs' shields and leave them as indistinguishable, bloody corpses.

Shepard noted the silent turrets above the door that followed their path. They hadn't been fired upon, so Tiberius assumed that Liara was watching them. Garrus stepped towards the door's console, but it opened automatically.

Shepard took the first cautious step into central operations and scanned the fairly empty room. Consoles and screens lined one side of the room, and standing in front of the main screen was a slender, blue-skinned asari. She turned as the trio entered.

"I was wondering when you would come for me, Shepard," said Liara.

"The Reapers-"

"I know. Come on," she said, turning back to her console. "We've got to get out of here. Anto just activated the bombs. We have five minutes. Feron!"

From an adjacent room, an olive and goldenrod-colored drell appeared. His black eyes were attached to the highlighter orange omni-tool on his wrist. He advanced into the central room and then towards Shepard.

Without removing his eyes from his omni-tool, he said, "From here, I can control the station. I've locked down the shuttle bay and activated the defenses. That should keep the Eclipse busy until we make it to your shuttle."

"If we let the bombs go off, everyone will think the Shadow Broker is dead."

"You're okay with that?"

Her bright blue eyes flashed as she pulled an OSD from inside her jacket. "I have everything I need to continue my operations on this disk," she said. "For now, let's just get out of here." She tucked the OSD back where it came.

"Four minutes and thirty seconds," Feron alerted.

"Let's get out of here. Garrus, cover Feron."

"That will be unnecessary," said the drell. He whipped a Carnifex pistol from his jacket. "What is the human expression? 'Walking and chewing gum'?"

Shepard led the way back into the hall. With a swiping motion from Feron's omni-tool, the door that the asari had locked reopened. The squad of five moved into the next hallway, surprisingly empty of mercenaries. They ran through that hallway as quickly as they could, weapons at the ready. As they approached the door leading to the shuttle bay, Feron said, "Scanners indicate that there are thirteen mercs alive, including Mr. Anto. They have taken out the main turret and are launching grenades at the other four."

"Will the turrets turn on us?" asked Garrus.

"No. I can rewrite the mainframe to recognize the Eclipse mercenaries as the enemy. Give me a second."

"Speaking of seconds… How long do we have?"

"Three minutes."

"We'll make it," said Shepard. "Open the door."

Feron made another swiping motion across the door's holographic display and it slid open.

A cacophony of gunfire and indiscernible shouting blasted against Shepard's ears as soon as the door opened. A human Eclipse trooper turned at the sound of the door opening.

"They're with the Broker!" she screamed.

She raised her assault rifle, but not before Shepard squeezed Charlotte's trigger and sent an array of disruptor rounds straight into her shields.

Garrus finished her off with a hip-shot from his Avenger. Shepard edged his way into the shuttle bay and grabbed some cover behind a row of docking consoles. More shouting filled the air and heated projectiles whizzed over his head. Miranda unleashed a heavy warp on a vanguard and then followed Garrus to the right of the bay.

Feron's eyes finally lifted from his omni-tool. He grabbed a thermal clip from the bandolier at his waist and punched it into his pistol before standing and firing. Liara slapped a nearby engineer with a singularity and took cover beside Shepard. He glanced once over the console, checking to see if he had a clear path, and then hurdled the equipment and ran straight into the thick of the battle. Charlotte's firepower blasted through the kinetic barriers of two troopers, followed by a concussive shot that sent them screaming to the ground.

He ducked behind a row of canisters just as a rocket nailed the wall behind him. Shepard signaled Miranda and Garrus to move up in order to flank the mercenaries. Another concussive shot and a crippling slam later and both of them downed three more Eclipse.

Tiberius shot blindly around the corner until Charlotte protested. He brought her back around, ejected the thermal clip and jammed another inside the Revenant's chamber. Loaded, he skirted around the edge of the canisters and pulled the trigger. Incendiary rounds burned through shield and armor. The asari and salarians in front of him disintegrated before his eyes.

"Shepard!" screamed a batarian from the other side of the bay. Tiberius looked up just in time to dodge another rocket from Anto's heavy weapon. "Aria won't let you get away with this!"

When an asari commando jumped in front of Shepard and peppered his shields with a shotgun burst, Shepard's right thumb pressed against his omni-tool activator. He dropped Charlotte to his left hand and pulled back his right arm for a heavy punch. In switchblade fashion, the omni-tool released a holographic blade and Shepard drove the orange beam of light into the asari's hardsuit.

A combination of heat and tech hit the commando's suit. Her barriers shattered, shields dropped, and her suit overloaded in a painful malfunction that flushed heat and nerve degeneration through her system. She was stunned, wide-eyed and shocked but still alive. To finish her off, Shepard brought the barrel of his Revenant up to her chin and squeezed the trigger.

Dark burgundy blood spattered against Shepard's chestplate. The dead asari slid to the floor.

Shepard's omni-tool beeped and the blade returned to its regular omni-tool shape. The commander grinned. He would have to thank Mordin when he saw him again.

Another explosion burst behind him and Shepard stared down the stock of his rifle at Anto. Miranda, Garrus and Shepard gunned the batarian down before he could launch another rocket.

The fight was over a little too quickly if anyone asked the slaughtered Eclipse mercs.

"Hurry," said Feron, running past Shepard towards the Kodiak. "One minute!" He waved his omni-tool at the shuttle bay doors and they opened.

The other four quickly jumped in. The shuttle driver shook and sweated as he got the Kodiak running. Shepard stared out the window into the shuttle just before they left to see the carnage they left behind. Bodies, weapons and blasted turret debris were strewn everywhere. Two Eclipse shuttles, unmanned and unmoving, sat idly in the bay.

"Forty-five seconds!" Feron shouted.

The driver revved the thrusters and the quintuplet grabbed onto their seats.

Shepard pressed his earpiece.

"Joker? Joker?" Shepard was half-afraid that Hagalaz's stormy atmosphere would interfere with the radio.

"Where the hell are you, Commander?" came the _Normandy_'s response.

"Make this a grab and go, Joker," said Shepard. "That base is going to blow."

"Are you nuts? We won't make it out in time!"

"If there's one pilot in this goddamn galaxy who can save our asses, it's you Joker! Double time!"

Looking out the window Tiberius witnessed the _Normandy_, painted in her new colors, climbing the skies to meet the Kodiak's intercept trajectory.

"Fifteen seconds!" Feron announced as the _Normandy_'s cargo door opened and the Kodiak dropped inside.

And fifteen seconds later the Shadow Broker's base blew up, catching the unaware Eclipse vessel in its wake. But the _Normandy _was out of range of the explosion, safe and sound as it left orbit.

Tiberius wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his armored hand.

"Let's not do that again any time soon, eh Commander?" Garrus suggested as they stepped out of the Kodiak.

"Agreed."

Shepard finally clipped Charlotte onto the back of his chestplate with his other weapons. Relieved that the fiasco was over with, he headed towards the elevator with his four companions. Before he could summon the elevator, it opened.

An awestruck Ashley and equally dumbfounded Lieutenant Vega stood there for a moment. Eyes flashed in all directions. Shepard hadn't planned on Ashley and Liara meeting again like this; a more formal setting perhaps, not one where they had just come off one of the most terrifying shuttle trips of their lives.

"Are you shitting me?" Ashley asked. Hard brown eyes narrowed at Tiberius. "Liara's the Shadow Broker?"

Before Tiberius could explain, the Spectre lunged at the asari, hands ready to strangle the unsuspecting woman.

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><p>Sorry this took me so long to write. Life happens, ya know? Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! Thanks for all of your encouragement, favorites, reviews and suggestions. I love it and you guys are awesome!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

This is the eighth chapter to my first series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set after the Arrival DLC and leads into Mass Effect 3.

*There are some spoilers ahead for ME3.*

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect, but I certainly wish I did.

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Eight: Explanation

The asari threw up a biotically charged hand just before Ashley grabbed her. The lieutenant stood frozen, blue swirls of biotics cloaking her in a smoke-like form. Incapable of moving, completely at the mercy of the woman she had just charged, Ashley's eyes flitted angrily between Liara and Shepard.

"I know that you think the deaths of your men are my fault, but if you would let me, I will explain. I promise," said Liara, calmly, especially for someone who had just been attacked by an angry soldier.

"Let her go!" James snarled.

"What the hell's going on?" asked Miranda.

Everyone in the cargo bay was poised for action, including Shepard, who had meant to grab Ashley before she could crush Liara's windpipe.

"It's classified," James snapped. "Ashley and Dr. T'Soni have some unfinished business."

"Unfinished business?" Shepard asked Liara.

The asari's blue eyes never left the female Spectre's.

"Yes," she replied. "But I would rather not discuss it here in the presence of everyone."

"It's classified."

Garrus smacked Lieutenant Vega on the back of the head. "We heard you the first time. Only Shepard gets away with repeating himself."

The staff lieutenant rubbed the back of his head to ease the pain, of his head and his pride. "Fine," he grumbled.

"I would like to speak to Lieutenant Williams," said Liara. "Privately."

"I'm staying," Shepard added.

"Then so am I," growled Vega. "This is Alliance business, just as it is personal. And Ashley's under my command as far as the Alliance is concerned."

"Fine. The rest of you are dismissed. Miranda, find some place for Feron to bunk. And introduce him to Thane," ordered Shepard.

Liara's drell assistant stood at ease, casually observing the scene before him. Garrus motioned for Feron to join him and Miranda in the elevator. He blinked once apprehensively, milk white eyelids closing in, and then again, before joining the turian and the human. The doors closed and the cargo bay was quiet once again, all but for the hum of Liara's sustained biotic prison.

With a nod from Shepard, Liara let Ashley go. Her hand went back to her side and the crackling blue field of energy evaporated. James made a move towards Ashley to see if she was okay, but she held up a hand to stop him.

The exchange between the two soldiers did not go unnoticed. Particularly by Shepard.

"You better have some answers, T'Soni," the Spectre barked as soon as she was freed, massaging the back of her neck.

Ashley still looked ready to pummel the asari, but Liara's peaceful expression didn't falter.

"First of all," Shepard cut in, "I want to know what happened." His head whipped around to glare at Vega. "And I don't give a damn if it's classified."

James opened his mouth to protest, but Ashley cut him off. "It's fine," she said. "He's a Spectre too."

James nodded, but he looked annoyed as hell: arms crossed, lips pursed, face tightened like he had just caught a whiff of some awful smell.

"So what happened?"

Ashley leaned back against a docking console before she began talking.

"After Horizon, the Council offered me a position as a Spectre. I'd already been through most of the training, but nothing was certain at that point. Anderson recommended I go for it. Our goal was to get me placed in the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance, that way we would have a more effective means of convincing the Council that the Reaper threat was real.

"Because of my recommendation from Captain Kirrahe, the salarian councilor was ready to give me the job. Tevos wanted me to prove myself first and Valern was just an ass about it, as usual. The Alliance brass was willing to let me into the Spectres. They said they had just the mission for me. An asari Spectre named Tela Vasir was originally supposed to evaluate me, but she was busy fighting batarians in the Terminus. Instead, a salarian named Illick, a former STG member, was my evaluator."

Ashley crossed her arms and Vega jumped to continue the story for her. His sour expression loosened, but not by much, as he spoke.

"Terra Firma extremists were attacking schools and universities. Bombs, bioweapon threats, protests, riots: the whole bit. They've always been about humanity's need for independence, but they weren't like Cerberus. When we first heard the report, neither of us believed that Terra Firma was actually involved. They weren't and hadn't been violent. Yet.

"Their targets ranged throughout the Traverse: Terra Nova, Mindoir, Eden Prime, and a few other small colonies. The schools they were attacking were tolerant of alien races and encouraged the human kids to immerse themselves within the different cultures. The Terra Firma extremists threatened to take more military action if the Alliance didn't stop it. The mission was easy: find Terra Firma's base of operations in the Traverse, destroy it and any insurgents, and see if there were any more pockets of resistance to flush out."

Ashley picked up the debriefing again.

"First of all, we didn't know where to start, so we needed an information broker. Illick tried to get a hold of Barla Von, the volus that worked for the Shadow Broker on the Citadel, but he died during the geth attack. Illick then recommended that we go to Ilium, where he heard there was a new broker that gave the Shadow Broker a run for his money.

"Needless to say, we got to Ilium and I was surprised to find that the broker we were looking for was Liara. She had a dossier on Charles Saracino, the Terra Firma leader who tried to run for Parliament before you died, Shepard."

"He tried to get me to support his campaign," Tiberius recalled.

"And you kindly told him to shove it," said Ashley. There was faint grin on her face when she did, but it disappeared as she continued. "From his dossier, Liara was able to find that he had warehouses on Mindoir that were at the time not being used. He was also planning to sell the properties to avoid taxes. Illick thought that these warehouses would be a good place to start looking.

"So we went to Mindoir, scoped the place out and discovered that it was indeed the extremist's base of operations. We took three days to plan everything. When we made the raid though, the bastards were ready for us."

"Half the team went down in that base, sir," said Vega. "I'd served with a lot of them for years."

"We finally managed to get a hold on one of the insurgents. James, Illick and I interrogated him, and he told us that their boss was tipped off by some asari on Ilium."

"And you are assuming that it was Liara?" asked Shepard.

"Hell yeah I am. I hope to God that it wasn't though, for her sake. Someone has to pay for their deaths. I'm sick of losing people under my command. "

"What happened after you interrogated the extremist?"

"They were all a bunch of idiots. Had files laying around like Christmas presents; names, locations, dates, places to be attacked, where their funding came from. We had everything. Went back to the Council, showed them our evidence and reported to the Alliance. The brass sent strike teams out to finish off the leftovers, promoted me to 2nd lieutenant, assigned me to Vega's detail, and the Council granted me Spectre status. Illick must have given them one hell of a report because I didn't think I deserved it. Anyway, I went back to Ilium by myself when I had some shore leave, only to find out that T'Soni had ditched the spaceport."

"And you jumped to conclusions," said Liara.

"My squad went down on information that I got from you," Ashley fumed. "Of course I jumped to conclusions!"

"So Liara," said Shepard. "What actually happened?"

"My assistant, Nyxeris, was an agent for the Shadow Broker called the Observer," Liara explained to Ashley. "She is the one responsible for the deaths of your men, Lieutenant."

"How do you know?" asked Ashley, jerking back her chin pretentiously.

"I asked Shepard to help me while he was recruiting members for his team. His assistance turned up information that there was a Shadow Broker agent on Ilium. After a little more digging and some guesswork, I confronted my assistant. We fought, which confirmed my suspicions. After going through her files, I discovered that she had relayed a message concerning your mission to an unidentified friend."

"So the bitch is dead?"

"Yes, she is." Liara hung her head. "I am sorry that you had to lose your men, Lieutenant. I know the loss of your squad on Eden Prime was hard enough. I was too caught up in my own problems to see the bigger picture."

"How come you were gone when I came back to Ilium?"

At this, Liara's face lifted and a smile teased the corners of her lips. "When I discovered that my assistant was a Shadow Broker agent, Cerberus forwarded new information about the Shadow Broker to Shepard. With it, we went after him. By the time you returned from your mission, I was already the new Shadow Broker."

"Let me get this straight," said James, shaking his head. "The information you gave us: your assistant overheard and warned the Shadow Broker, who then warned Terra Firma? Why did he warn them?"

"I wondered the same thing, Lieutenant Vega," Liara sighed. "Once the former Shadow Broker was dead, I had access to all his files. He threatened to sell Terra Firma's dirty secrets on the market if they didn't pay him."

"So he extorted them?"

"Yes. When someone has access to that much information – information that can ruin lives – it's easy to do, and easy to get away with."

"How do we know you're not lying to us?" asked Ashley.

Liara pulled the OSD she had from the base out of her jacket again. "If you need proof, I have it right here."

Shepard witnessed Ashley's hardened expression soften, and then the anger went out of her eyes like the dimming of a light. She shook her head.

"No," she said quietly. "I believe you."

"I'm sorry for your losses," Liara apologized to both Alliance lieutenants, placing the OSD back in her jacket pocket.

"We've all suffered losses, Liara." Ashley stood to her full height. "Thank you."

Liara gave a respectful nod to Ashley then looked to Tiberius. "If you could find a place for me with access to a private terminal, I would appreciate it."

"The AI core has been redesigned to accommodate your needs, Dr. T'Soni," offered EDI, her holographic avatar popping up on one of the docking consoles. "It should be a familiar and comfortable space for you. It is located in the same place as your office on the original _Normandy_."

"Thank you, EDI." Liara ran a hand over her blue scalp. Shepard saw exhaustion in the motion. "I will be there if anyone needs me."

She turned and walked to the elevator. James tagged along behind her.

"Dr. T'Soni, mind if I join you? I have a few things I need to do."

Shepard and Ashley were alone again, staring at each other and the amount of space between them. Tiberius wondered: _would things ever just be _normal?

"Anderson said your work was classified," he said.

"Most of it was classified to protect my record from Cerberus," Ashley replied. "When you first went to the Citadel, before Horizon, we knew someone was behind the attacks on the colonies and the brass suspected Cerberus. A lot of people's files went into deep classification after that."

"You know, the first Spectre, the asari who was going to evaluate you, she tried to kill Liara while she was looking for the Shadow Broker?"

"So now it's you and Liara, is it?"

Shepard stared blankly at her.

"What? She's all you seem to talk about."

"This again, Ash?" He pressed a palm to his eyes and attempted to rub out the oncoming twitch. "Liara is my friend. She's never been anything more. And besides, what about you and James? He practically tried to dash to your rescue when Liara let you go."

"You noticed that?"

"I'd be surprised if even Garrus didn't pick up on it. And you know how he is with reading humans."

"Hell."

"Care to explain?"

Ashley began picking at the gloves of her suit. "If you're really concerned," she began, "I just want you to know that nothing happened between us."

"That's not what I saw."

The tables had turned.

During the hunt for Saren and his geth almost three years ago, Ashley had brought the latest scuttlebutt to Shepard's attention; which said that the commander was sweet on the young and gullible – but very attractive – asari doctor. And despite his protests and his claims that he was only interested in Ashley, she continued to question. Once he made it clear to Liara that they were just friends, Ashley backed off the question. Shepard had always doubted that the former gunnery chief ever truly gave up her suspicions; that much was clear at the moment.

But things were different. It was Shepard's turn to make comments and outrageous claims. Rightfully so, he thought. James had practically jumped in front of Ashley to stand in Liara's biotic field for her.

"So what happened?"

"During training, while I was at Fort Charles on Titan, Gunny Ellison bumped me from squad leader to platoon guide, and James was among the guys I served with. We were then assigned to the 212 together. He left about eight months later to join Rapid Response in the Kepler Verge, just before Eden Prime. We were good friends. I talked about him and Sarah used to tease me about us. But regulations, you know, stopped anything from happening. Anyways, we dropped out of contact after that. He was always too busy or I was doing some crap assignment. But then this Spectre thing came around and I got stuck with James and his boys when the Alliance gave me my evaluation mission.

"We were old friends. We trusted each other, worked well together, all of that stuff. After the mission was over, I was frustrated. And when you're frustrated, you're supposed to 'get it all out'. Couldn't talk to my family, because the mission was classified, and I couldn't…talk to you…because you were off doing your own thing and we weren't-"

"Together?" Shepard finished.

"Yeah. So James noticed I was down and he asked me about it. And I just spilt everything to him."

"Define everything?"

"Everything. You. Horizon. _Everything_. And I thought we were still just friends after that, but James…couldn't let it go."

"Obviously."

"But for me, we're just friends," she said, trying to reassure him. She stopped picking at her gloves and then brushed her hair back behind her ear again.

"Maybe you should straighten that out with him?"

"Now, Skipper," she said playfully, smiling at him again, "is that a hint of jealousy I detect in your voice?"

Tiberius crossed his arms and stared at her. Ashley raised her hands in defense. "I'll talk to him. I promise. I already ruined things with you once. I don't plan on doing it again."

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><p>So that's my take on what Ashley had to do to get her Spectre status. I'm sure that Bioware will come up with something ten times more epic when ME3 comes out. I always wished that Terra Firma was more involved in the story, other than what happens in ME.<br>Again and again, thanks for all the reviews, favorites and encouragement.


	9. Chapter 9

This is the ninth chapter to my series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set after the Arrival DLC and leads into Mass Effect 3.

*There are some spoilers ahead for ME3.*

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect, but I certainly wish I did.

**Author's Note: Sorry this has taken so long. It's been crazy the last few months and I don't really have time to write a lot anymore. I will do my best to keep updating more regularly. I'm also not going to be taking the story all the way. Because this is a Shepley fanfic, the focus of this story will be on them from now on. Also, please feel free to PM me if you have issues or discrepancies with any major ME canon issues. Of course, also keep in mind this is _fanfic_, which is for fun and not to be taken seriously. Meanwhile, I will do my best to remain within canon and uphold the ME universe. Thanks to everyone for reading.**

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><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Nine: Council

The clock sitting on his end table read 0300 hours. Shepard's internal clock, however, didn't allow him to sleep despite the lateness of the hour.

Especially when he had so much on his mind.

After the shakedown with Ashley and Liara in the cargo bay, Tiberius returned to the CIC to inform Joker of their next destination. Regardless of the fact that he could simply relay the instructions via comm link, a humorous and blunt conversation with the helmsman typically yielded a brighter outlook for Shepard.

"I do not envy you, Commander," Joker admitted upon Shepard's entrance on the bridge. "A whole galaxy to save, and still the mindless drama rolls in. If I were you, which – let's face it, will never happen – I would cry myself to sleep at night."

Shepard smirked. "Who says I don't?"

"No killjoys in this cockpit, Commander. I don't_ want_ to know that the galaxy's number one badass cries himself to sleep."

"Why's that?"

"Because if _he_ does, that means the rest of us are shit out of luck."

Tiberius laughed at the flight lieutenant. "Well then," he said, "my lips are sealed."

"Your tear ducts too, Commander." Joker scratched his auburn-red beard and adjusted his flight cap. "Anyways, where are we headed to next?"

"The Citadel. It's time for a little talk with our favorite councilors."

Joker's chair turned back to the _Normandy_'s control console. "You should've just let 'em die," said Joker over his shoulder.

"Joker," Shepard warned.

A pair of hands lifted in surrender. "Fine. Fine. We'll go the Citadel."

"Good boy."

"Thanks, dad."

Within minutes, the _Normandy_ was flying at faster than light speeds towards the Widow system. It would take a few hours to get there. To pass the time, Shepard went to his cabin and read the dossiers of the new Alliance crew.

As Kelly had mentioned to him before, James Vega's record was very impressive. By the time he joined the Rapid Response unit almost three years ago, he was service chief, just under Ashley's rank of gunnery chief. After that, his career took off and he climbed the ranks faster than anyone in his squad. He landed hot jobs with Rapid Response such as preventing slaver raids and pushing back pirate attacks. He'd earned a fair share of medals and ribbons in the marine corps: a bronze star, purple heart, meritorious service, a marine corps good conduct medal, and a combat action ribbon, just to name a few. He was the cookie-cutter Alliance soldier. His commanding officers commended his ability to take orders and perform them at a level that exceeded expectations.

Shepard moved on to Ashley's dossier.

Everything that both Kelly and Ashley had told him was true. Lieutenant Williams' psychological profile talked about the deaths of her unit in the 212 on Eden Prime, as well as warning of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the combined incidents of Eden Prime and the destruction of the original _Normandy_. Along with the trauma she faced on Mindoir, the psychologist in charge of the evaluation mentioned that Ashley was a time bomb waiting to explode.

Surprisingly though, the profile hadn't deterred the Council from taking her on as a Spectre. Anderson must have really pushed the envelope and Ashley's Spectre evaluator must have really liked what he saw. Shepard had always thought that she deserved better than the crap she was given, but the sudden change in heart, especially with concern to the Alliance, came off as a bit of a surprise. There was quite a jump from being given crap assignments like Eden Prime to becoming the second Spectre in human history.

Tiberius continued through the dossiers and profiles of each Alliance crewmember. The ones that he already knew he was able to catch up on, such as Adams and Howard, the requisitions officer. The ones he didn't, he studied carefully. Everyone was clean.

He spent the rest of the evening by himself, unable to sleep. Thoughts rolled through his head: Was Anderson still alive? Did he make it out of Vancouver? How much of Earth had the Reapers destroyed already? How much time did they have until Earth was nothing more than a harvested wasteland?

As a result, he ended up checking his messages every ten minutes.

Around 0100, when the ship was dark and the crew was asleep, he'd slipped down to the third deck to see if there was something in the med bay that could help him sleep. As he left the elevator, the door to life support hissed and opened.

The drell assassin walked out, arms behind his back. Before he continued, Shepard and Thane's eyes met.

"Ah, couldn't sleep?" asked the drell. His voice was raspier than usual, deeper, an effect of his evolving disease.

"Yeah," replied Shepard. He stepped out of the elevator and stuck his hands in his pockets. "What about you, Thane?"

"I was having some difficulty breathing. I just needed to walk around for a bit."

"How are you feeling?"

The drell blinked both sets of eyelids before speaking again. "If you are asking if I am still able to fight, the answer is yes. If you truly wish to know of my current state, I would be forced to lie to you."

"Thane," said Shepard. He shook his head. "We can take you somewhere-"

Thane lifted a hand to silence Tiberius. "There is no need. I am going to die, Shepard, and I would rather surrender to the Oceans among friends or in battle than in some arid hospital with a powerless doctor."

Shepard sighed. "I understand."

"Thank you, Commander. Now, may I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"This woman, this Spectre that has come on board, I understand from Miss Chambers' gossip that she is your siha."

"My what?" Shepard asked. He'd never heard the word before. "I think my translator just glitched."

"No." The drell shook his head. "_Siha_. It refers to a warrior-angel of the goddess Arashu, fierce in wrath and a tenacious protector. Remember when I told you about the woman who put herself in the path of one of my targets? Irikah, my woman who became my wife, was a siha, my siha. This woman is yours?"

"I…" Tiberius hesitated. "She was."

Thane's green lips lifted into a smirk. "If I have learned one thing from knowing my own mortality, it is that life is unpredictable. You yourself encouraged me to make things right with Kolyat. Do you not wish to make things right with this woman?"

"I do," Tiberius replied. He swallowed the knot his throat that had him tongue-tied. "But things are complicated."

"Life is complicated," the drell responded sincerely. "With the arrival of the Reapers, life is now both complicated and uncertain. It is my duty to encourage you to make peace, both with your siha and with yourself."

Thane walked past him around the elevator. Shepard stood where he was for a few seconds, thinking about what Thane had said, and then proceeded to the med bay.

The orange glow of night-lights on the crew deck mixed with the hazy aqua that came through the windows of the med bay. He walked in and noticed that the room was empty of personnel and quiet, but at the same time, welcoming. Shepard thought about continuing into the AI core and checking up on Liara. In all likeliness, she was probably still awake, busy at her terminal continuing her work as the Shadow Broker. But he'd had enough for one day and wanted little else but sleep.

Tiberius unlocked the cabinet where Chakwas kept the Medi-gel, stims and painkillers. In the back of the cabinet he found a bottle of sleeping pills. After reading the directions carefully, he removed one, tucked it into his pants' pocket and put the bottle back.

"Commander?"

The voice was unfamiliar, male and groggy. Shepard closed the cabinet and turned around. Staff Lieutenant James Vega stood in the doorway, eyes puffy and face pale and drawn from lack of sleep, and gave Tiberius a questioning look. His eyebrow flitted upwards as he nodded at Shepard's pockets.

"Not sleeping well?"

"Not really," Shepard replied.

In close proximity, Tiberius was finally able to get a good look at the staff lieutenant. He was a crossbreed between an athlete and a tank. Shepard thought it safe to assume that during his high school days Vega had been a football player. The barrel of muscle that made his chest testified to Shepard's assumption. The sides of his head were shaved to stubble, leaving a long, thick stripe of hair down the middle of his head in the formerly popular mohawk fashion.

Tiberius knew from his dossier that he was only a year older than Ashley, making him young, but with ten years in the Alliance under his belt, he was an experienced soldier. Beneath the buff exterior, Shepard wondered what kind of man James Vega really was. Was he like Jacob? A man of action, sick and tired of not being able to make a difference? Was he like Kaidan? A thinking man, confident in his abilities, but still holding back?

"What are you doing up, lieutenant?" Shepard asked.

Vega rubbed his eyes. "Heard someone come down the elevator. Wondered who it was."

"You a light sleeper?"

Shepard hated this kind of small talk.

The lieutenant nodded. "Hard to sleep when you're used to thinking someone's gonna knife you while your eyes are shut. Anyways, it's just you. Good night, Commander."

Vega saluted lazily, turned, and walked back towards the crew's quarters. Shepard wondered what kind of story the man had, and if he would prove to be an asset or a deadweight in the campaign against the Reapers.

After that, Shepard headed back to his cabin, and lay open-eyed staring up into the great flurry of stars. He rolled onto his shoulder and checked his clock again.

0302.

He flopped back onto his bed, placed his hands behind his head and resolved himself to staring up through the ceiling window. He'd taken the sleeping pill as soon as he returned to his cabin, but whether sleep would come or not… That was the question.

He sighed.

The morning would bring another busy day.

* * *

><p>"Commander Shepard," said the asari councilor with a nod of her head. "Lieutenant Williams. It's good to see that you are both alive."<p>

The three councilors hid behind their podiums in the Citadel Tower. One of the podiums was empty: it was Anderson's. Shepard, Ashley, Vega and Miranda stood in front of the Council on an extended platform. Shepard decided to bring Ashley because of her Spectre status. He wasn't quite sure why he had brought Vega.

"We barely made it out alive," said Shepard, referring to the _Normandy_'s narrow escape from Earth. "The Reapers are here, councilors. What are you going to do about it?"

"We've already decided to back you with a full fleet and our entire support," said Tevos, the asari. "You were right about the Reapers."

"Ridiculous," the turian councilor, Valern, mumbled. "They were just a myth—"

"It's about time," Miranda hissed. "Did you honestly think that we were making it up? 'Ah yes, Reapers'." Miranda uncharacteristically lifted her fingers to make air quotes, thus imitating what the turian councilor had done to Shepard a little more than a year ago. "Like you could wish them away—"

"Miranda, stand down," said Shepard warningly. However much he wanted to chuckle at her display, he didn't need to give the Council a reason to withdraw their offer. "They're supporting us now."

"Still, it's about time," Ashley snipped.

"We've tried making contact with Councilor Anderson at Vancouver, but have been unable to maintain contact," said the salarian councilor. "We are assuming that the Reapers have taken out all communications."

"Have you heard from Anderson?"

"Nothing since we left Earth. The VI on Ilos said that this was how it begins."

"We're going to rely on you for any information you have on the Reapers and the Prothean extermination, Commander," said Tevos. "Your former associate, Dr. T'Soni, should help you as well."

"She's already a part of my team. Any information I have is yours."

"Thank you, Commander. You have our support. What is your plan?"

"We fight or we die. That's the plan."

Valern huffed. "Besides the obvious, Commander?"

Shepard grabbed onto the railing in front of him, looked into each other councilors' faces and then said, "Gather every race. Go back to Earth. Stop the Reapers before they leave the Local Cluster and spread throughout the galaxy."

"We've already received a report from Thessia that there are giant warships in their orbit. Estimates are that the Reapers will land in two days."

"Then Thessia will be my first stop."

"But how do you plan on getting rid of the Reapers invading Thessia?"

"That's what the Council Fleet is for."

"You're asking us to sacrifice our entire fleet to save one planet?" Valern huffed. "That's ridiculous!"

"If Palaven were under attack right now, would you be bitching?" Ashley asked, crossing her arms.

Tevos and the salarian councilor shook their heads at Valern.

"Fine," he said, throwing his talons in the air. "Save one planet."

"If we save one planet, Councilor, we can save them all," Shepard reminded him. "The _Normandy _is docked for repairs right now, but the entire crew is working on it. We should be out in five or six hours."

"We'll put the fleet on alert. They'll be ready whenever you leave and follow you to Thessia," said the asari. "We have officially given you full Spectre status again, Commander. Use it wisely. Your actions, who you are able to save and who you are unable to save, reflect back on us."

Valern spoke up. "Lieutenant Williams, your mission remains the same."

"What mission?" Shepard asked Ashley, turning towards her.

"I'll tell you later, Commander."

"Both your missions are critical to the survival of the galaxy," said the salarian councilor. "Save as many as you can."

"The two of you will remain in contact and you will have our full support. Good luck, Commander, Lieutenant. May your mission be successful."

Nods from Tiberius and Ashley signaled their understanding. Vega saluted. Miranda kicked up her boots and stalked off.

Shepard, Ashley and James followed the steaming Miranda off the platform and walked down the steps, wending their way through the diplomats, soldiers, and civilians that sought an audience with the Council. At the Citadel Rapid Transit hub, they regrouped and Vega asked, "So what do we do now, sir?"

"We head back to the _Normandy_. Garrus had repairs that needed to be made and I told Kasumi and Jacob to buy supplies. We'll be docked at Zakera Ward for a few hours until everything's done, then we head to Thessia."

"What do you think will happen on Thessia?"

"We'll need the Council Fleet, whatever happens. If the Reapers are in orbit, we'll need as much firepower as we can to get in."

"I do love a good entrance," said Ashley, a smirk on her face.

The taxi arrived and everyone jumped in. Silence stretched over the ride back to Zakera Ward, leaving Shepard to his thoughts. But he was tired of thinking. He was tired of analyzing. Now it was time to blow the Reapers to hell once and for all. He pressed his panicked thoughts into the background and settled his focus on watching the Citadel taxis zoom back and forth across the station.

Once the taxi dropped them off Shepard searched the ward for his team members. He spotted Jacob and Kasumi standing inside Zakera Café picking up food supplies. Jacob lifted his omni-tool to pay while Kasumi accepted a crate from the asari clerk.

"Hey Shep," said Kasumi cheerfully.

"Here," said Tiberius, reaching for the crate in the Japanese woman's arms. "Let me take that for you."

"Thanks!" The master thief relinquished her crate to the commander and then looked directly at Ashley, her eyes and all expression unseen but for the wide, knowing smile on her lips. "He's such a gentleman."

To Shepard's slight dismay, Ashley bared no hints of embarrassment. Had he expected her to blush like a little schoolgirl? The woman that had one time called herself a hellcat both on and off the battlefield? Tiberius realized then just how much time had passed between them; enough for him to forget.

"What about me, Miss Goto?" asked Jacob, quirking an eyebrow at the perky little woman. He hefted a crate up into his arms.

"Of course you are, Jacob."

The thief and the operative smiled at each other.

Shepard glanced at Miranda only to see her face bearing a cold and distant expression. She wore it every time Jacob and Kasumi were together. But then her eyes flitted subtly over to look at Lieutenant Vega, and Shepard couldn't help but grin.

The group walked through the C-Sec office. Shepard waved to Bailey before passing through the scanners and into the long hall that took them to the docking bay. Upon exit into the bay, Shepard was surprised to see a rather large group of armed men standing in front of the _Normandy_ airlock.

Branded upon their heavy armor was the black symbol of Cerberus, stark against the yellow stripe and chipped white surface of their chestplates. Helmets with red slits for eyes covered their heads and they each had a different weapon clipped to their backs.

As the group approached the airlock, Vega whispered, "Is that Cerberus?"

"Cerberus operatives clearly equipped for combat," Miranda replied. "I didn't know the Illusive Man was building an army."

"Apparently there were a lot of things we didn't know about Cerberus," said Jacob. "The Illusive Man _needs_ Shepard though, so why would he send an outfit to the Citadel?"

"What do we do, Skipper?" asked Ashley.

"They haven't fired yet," Tiberius replied. "They must want something."

"Yeah. Maybe your head on a platter?"

"Commander Shepard," said one of the commandos, stepping forward. "We have orders from the Illusive Man to bring you in."

"For what?" asked Shepard, bending down and setting the crate of food stores on the ground. Back to his full height, he placed his hands on his hips, right hand itching to grab his Phalanx heavy pistol. "The Illusive Man should be applauding my efforts to stop the Reaper invasion. He should know that I don't have time for this kind of shit."

The Cerberus commando brought up his heavy rifle, subtly threatening to use force. "Those are my orders, straight from the top. I don't question the Illusive Man."

Jacob had drawn his shotgun, prepared for a fight. Shepard's trigger finger twitched.

"You can tell the Illusive Man I'm doing him a favor. He wants humanity to come out on top, he can get in line and help me."

"The Illusive Man's orders were to bring you in."

All eyes were upon Shepard. He looked to his left where Ashley stood beside him, complete trust in her expression. Then he turned back to the commando and the armed operatives standing behind him.

"I don't care if the sun was shining out of his ass. I don't have time for this."

Everyone jumped into action.

Kasumi disappeared and Miranda biotically threw an assault trooper across the docking bay. Ashley's Vindicator sprayed bullets at the Cerberus troopers as Vega stepped back and popped them off one at a time with his sniper rifle. Shepard's hand snagged the Phalanx from his hip. He fired into the commando's chest four times. The first bullet ripped through his shields, the second slammed into his shoulder, the third split open his hardsuit, and the fourth resulted in an eruption of blood.

"Just like old times," said Ashley, running for cover behind the customs counter.

Alarms blared and C-Sec officers ran through the doors. The turian, Sergeant Haron, took a concussive round to the chest before the officers realized that the threat was real. Between the combined forces of C-Sec and Shepard's team, the Cerberus troops lay lifeless in a manner of minutes.

"Goddamn," said Commander Bailey as he nudged a dead trooper with his boot. "Never a boring day in C-Sec. Cerberus operatives. You gotta be shitting me."

Tiberius slipped his pistol back into its holster. Kasumi reappeared at Shepard's side, her SMG still held in her left hand. Ashley climbed back over the counter and ejected a thermal clip from her rifle. Jacob, Miranda and James joined Shepard after collapsing their guns.

"What would the Illusive Man want to bring you in for?" asked Miranda, nudging a dead trooper with the toe of her boot. "It's not like you're on entirely terrible terms. You only told him you were doing it your way."

"When has the Illusive Man ever liked taking orders from someone else?" asked Jacob. "My guess? He wants you under the Cerberus banner again."

"But why would it matter if Shepard was working for Cerberus or not?" Miranda pondered. "They're both working toward the same goal."

"As far as we know. People change," Ashley suggested.

"Not the Illusive Man. He's always been about destroying the Reapers and setting up humanity's stake in the galaxy."

"Whatever his reasons," said Tiberius, "if he doesn't interfere, he can keep his pretty little troops. I've got better things to do than worry about Cerberus and the Illusive Man."

"Like saving the galaxy?" asked Ashley. "I'm right behind you, Skipper."


	10. Chapter 10

This is the tenth chapter to my series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set during Mass Effect 3.

*There are some spoilers ahead for ME3.*

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect, but I certainly wish I did.

See author's note in Chapter Nine for any concerns.

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Ten: Important

"It's probably not the best time to tell you," said Ashley to Shepard. Bullets whistled past the commander's N7 helmet just as he pulled back from peeking around the corner. He turned his attention back to Ashley, pulse pounding, sweat dripping down his neck, the heat of battle thrumming through his veins. "I talked to James," said the lieutenant, jamming another thermal clip in her Vindicator battle rifle.

Of all the places to talk about their relationship, Ashley had to bring it up while Reaperized asari attacked them with biotic warps and shotguns. The battlefield was not Shepard's choice "determine the relationship" spot, but for two soldiers, it was the next best thing.

"And?" asked Tiberius, cradling Charlotte against his chesptplate and signaling Liara to move up.

"I'll say this: you and I survive this firefight, first round of drinks at the lounge back in Serrice are on me."

Shepard nodded. "Sounds good, LT."

Ashley grinned and jerked her chin over her shoulder. "What do you say we bust some heads, Skipper?"

* * *

><p>Shepard watched triumphantly as the Reaper crashed to the planet's surface.<p>

He tapped his earpiece. "Ground Team to Fleet. Casualties?"

"We lost half of the 23rd and most of the 21st Fighter groups," Joker radioed in. "Those Reapers were tough sons of bitches to bring down."

"Joker, lead the Fleet back into Serrice. And good work."

"Will do, Commander."

* * *

><p>"Thanks to your efforts, Shepard, Thessia survived the Reaper attack," said the Matriarch standing at a council podium. "We owe you a great debt. With the Reapers on the verge of taking your home planet, we offer you our own fleet to assist and aid you in your campaign."<p>

Tiberius nodded respectfully. "Thank you, Matriarch."

"May the goddess watch over you."

Shepard watched the council of asari Matriarchs depart from the room. After they left, he turned to his companions.

"We leave for Palaven at 0600. Miranda, notify the crew that they have until then to relax."

"Looking for some R and R, Shepard?" asked Miranda, who brought up her omni-tool and punched in a series of commands. The orange tool disappeared after she finished while a smug grin on her face appeared. "With a certain someone?"

"One day I'll get you back," he replied jokingly, referring to the instance when Miranda had instigated a not so secret eavesdropping on Shepard and Ashley's first relationship chat.

"We'll see about that."

Liara, Miranda and Shepard left the room after the Matriarchs. They weren't more than ten meters out the door when a raspy female voice called to Shepard.

"Commander."

He turned quickly, expecting trouble. A familiar blue-skinned asari with red eyes approached the trio. It was when Tiberius noticed the red eyes – the harshness and color that told of krogan ancestry – that he knew whom the woman was.

"Aethyta?"

"Matriarch Aethyta now," she said, giving a little curtsy. "The other crap-for-brains matriarchs finally listened to me once the Reapers entered our orbit. Much like they finally listened to you."

"Aethyta," Liara whispered softly behind Shepard. "From the Shadow Broker's databases… You were…"

Tiberius turned back to Liara, who looked both happy and paralyzed with anger. Aethyta, matriarch and former bartender, was Liara's biological father. Aethyta had hinted at it the first time the commander and the matriarch met, calling Matriarch Benezia, Liara's mother, "a screw up" in a way so passionately that Shepard figured it had to be personal.

Just how personal it went, Shepard hadn't known. Until Liara became the Shadow Broker and had access to the old Broker's data. Video logs from Aethyta's apartment at the Nos Astra spaceport on Ilium showed the newly dubbed Matriarch staring wishfully at a picture of Liara. At that point, Shepard had figured it out. And so had Liara.

"Little Wing…" said Aethyta, taking a few steps toward Liara.

But Liara stepped back.

"I don't know you."

"Give me a chance to explain myself."

"Why?" asked Liara.

Shepard moved to the background, Miranda walking with him, until the two asari were standing there in the corridor talking.

"Because I screwed up. I can't make things right, but I want to make them better."

Liara crossed her arms. "Fine," she said. "But don't hold your breath."

"Meet me at the Violet Sun Club in two hours," said Aethyta.

"Alright."

Liara and Aethyta parted ways, Liara rejoining Miranda and Shepard. The three of them walked without speaking to the elevator. Once inside, Liara asked, "Isn't that where you and Ashley are meeting?"

* * *

><p>Tiberius stood outside the Violet Sun staring up at the sign.<p>

"You gonna be okay, Commander?" Jacob asked.

"Of course he will be," Kasumi answered confidently for Tiberius. Then she paused for a moment. "You will be okay, right?"

"It's no big deal, you know, meeting the woman who threw him literally to the dogs on Horizon," said Joker. He shrugged nonchalantly. "No big deal."

"All this relationship shit bores me to death." Jack sighed heavily. "All your 'warm and fuzzies'," she said, making quotes with two fingers, "make me want to puke. Zaeed, let's go find a shitty bar and get into a fight with some squints."

"As long as we make bets on who wins, darling," the mercenary replied, following after Subject Zero as she trudged off to go wreak havoc.

Tiberius continued to stare up at the sign. It all boiled down to this. Just like it had Horizon. Hopefully this time he'd have some better lines to pitch. He adjusted the collar of his uniform and cracked his knuckles.

"Go get 'em, pigboy," Garrus encouraged, clapping the commander on the back.

"It's cowboy, you idiot," said Vega.

Shepard heard the slap on the back of Vega's head from Garrus's claw and the dejected "Hey!" from the lieutenant.

Despite the heavy hit Thessia had taken during the Reaper's brief attack, most of Serrice had managed to stay together. The districts that had taken the brunt of the hit were being worked on, but the spaceport where the club was located was still intact.

Inside the Violet Sun, warm air blasted Shepard's face. Warm air and the smell of smoke, bodies, and alcohol. While the Violet Sun was not the most refined club at Serrice's spaceport, it was nicer than Afterlife on Omega and had a reputation of getting crazy once the lights went down. Violet lights illuminated the walls and cast a bluish haze over the lounge. Odd shaped chairs were scattered over the upper deck with low white tables in between. In the middle of the room was a color-coded dance floor. Three human men, two asari and a drunken krogan swayed together out on the floor to a slow bump-and-grind beat.

Each of the three bartenders was a different race: one human, one salarian, and one asari. The bar was crowded with all kinds of people, mainly upper class with shiny outfits and sleek suits. A batarian male was hitting on an asari with suggestive one-liners while a human woman dressed to impress sat on a drell's lap laughing drunkenly at something he had said.

Over in the corner of the room near the dance floor, Shepard spotted Liara sitting with Matriarch Aethyta at a corner booth. They were deep in conversation, their glasses of ice brandy untouched.

And sitting not far away was Lieutenant Ashley Williams. Outfitted in her Alliance uniform, dangling a glass mug of amber liquid in her fingers, Shepard realized that _this_ was the woman he had been missing for years.

She stared at the dance floor, watching the people. As Shepard pressed through the tight-knit crowd of club-goers, he caught a glimpse of the straining muscles in her arms as she lifted the mug to her lips and took a sip of her beverage. The muscles trailed up into her shoulders, and from her shoulders, there was the long space of her neck, and lower, spreading downwards, her breasts…

Shepard's mouth went dry. How would he be able to speak? _Shit, shit, shit_, he cursed over and over. He hadn't even thought about what he was going to say…

"Hey, wanna dance?" asked a human male that walked up to Ashley, eyeing her brazenly. He offered his hand, but Ashley shook her head.

Tiberius pressed harder to get to her before the guy could try anything more. Jealousy crept up over him like a coiled tiger, ready to pounce, should Ash accept the man's invitation. He cracked his knuckles as he got closer.

"No, I'm meeting someone," Ash replied.

"Come on, just one dance."

"I said no. Back off."

The guy lifted his hands. "Shit. Well _sorrrryyyy_," he said, accenting the apology, drawing it out.

"Good. Now run along." She pushed her hand out as if she were shooing away an animal. The guy did a double take, but continued on his way towards the bar to pick up another woman.

Finally, Tiberius reached the chairs where Ashley sat.

"Hey."

She looked up at him.

God, he felt like an idiot. Watching the way she looked at him, he realized he should've fought harder to hold on to her at Horizon.

"It's about time," she snipped, placing her attention in her glass as she took another sip from the liquid.

Tiberius stood there, unsure if she was teasing or being serious. Ashley snickered and shook her head. Then she drew out a long, laughing sigh and said, "Lighten up, Skipper. You just saved a planet, and pretty much an entire race. You can let your guard down for five minutes."

Shepard chuckled uneasily and took a seat across from her. He forced himself to peel his eyes away from the chain clasped around her neck that led south to regions he remembered very well, and back to Ash's face.

"What're you drinking?" he asked with a nod.

"Earth-brewed beer. I'm not much of one for those fancy asari cocktails," she replied, swirling the contents of the glass mug.

Shepard had figured so. A waitress came over and asked for Shepard's order.

"I'll have what she's having," he said.

The waitress brought up her omni-tool and charged the amount to Ashley's tab and then headed back to the bar to pick up Shepard's drink.

"You talked to James," said Shepard, digging for a place to start this conversation. "And I assume that it went fairly well, otherwise we wouldn't be here."

"Yeah, it did." Ashley leaned back in her chair and held the mug in her hand.

Shepard caught another eyeful of her frontal assets and had to stop himself from gawking again.

"See something you like, Skipper?"

_Oh yeah… _he thought.

"Maybe," said Shepard, dancing around the subject.

Ashley quirked an eyebrow playfully, then leaned forward to set her glass down on the table. She sat back and folded her hands in her lap.

"Anyways, yes, I talked to James."

"How'd it go?" asked Shepard, appreciating the change in subject.

"It went pretty well. He wasn't happy, but he understood. Told him that we were just friends. He tried to fight it first, but I think her finally got the message."

"How'd you manage that?"

"I just told the truth."

"And what was that exactly?"

"Your drink, sir."

The waitress held out a tray with Shepard's beer on it. He saw Ashley shake her head with a chuckle and then glare at the intruding waitress. Shepard took his beer, thanked the woman and then looked back at Ashley.

"I told him that he wasn't you."

Shepard leaned forward, setting his glass on the table in front of him, uncrossing his leg and looking at Ashley.

"And you meant it?" he asked her.

"I said what I meant, Skipper." She leaned forward and only the low table holding their drinks separated them. Ashley opened her mouth again and spoke:

"Though the hills be held shadows, and the sea a dark wonder,  
>And this day draw a veil over all deeds passed over,<br>Yet their hands shall not tremble, their feet shall not falter:  
>The void shall not weary, the fear shall not alter<br>These lips and these eyes of the loved and the lover."

Tiberius replied, smirk on his lips, "'At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.'"

"Since when did you start reciting lines?"

"Since I picked it up from you."

"Should've known I'd rub off you. Who said that?"

"Plato.

"He certainly knew it would be true of people like me," she said with a light laugh.

"Ash," said Tiberius. His hand reached towards hers. At first, her fingers were limp and cold, providing no reassurance that what he was doing was something she wanted. But then she tightened her battle-callused hand on his. Warmth returned to her fingers and pressed down upon Shepard, making him ready to suffocate. But if this would be the death he died, sitting in a club holding hands with Ashley, it would be a death he wouldn't mind dying.

Shepard continued to grin. "I'm sorry about Horizon. I'd hoped you moved on, but I also hoped you hadn't. And for the record, I'm glad you didn't. I'm sorry I didn't contact you earlier. I'm sorry that we're just finding our feet again at a time when we are probably going to die."

"I forgive you, Skipper. I told you, I already forgave you."

Shepard tightened his grip on her hand and she squeezed back.

They spent the next few hours reminiscing about their adventures on the _SR_-1, swapping stories about their alien teammates and talking about what happened during the year after Horizon until they met again on Earth. Ashley told Tiberius about her mom and how she was doing, how her youngest sister Sarah was off to university and thinking about joining the marines once she graduated. They talked about Kaidan and his sacrifice and honored his memory with a toast.

As time went on, the club became louder and more and more people filled the place. Before long, Ashley and Shepard couldn't hear each other because of the music and the shouting of the attendees. In an impulsive fit of wanting to touch the body that he had been denied for so long, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the crowded dance floor.

"T…" she said hesitantly.

"Lighten up, Lieutenant," he replied, quoting her from earlier in their meeting. "You just helped save a planet and spouted poetry to me. You can let your guard down for five minutes."

They settled into a space somewhere near the middle between two asari and a human-salarian couple. Ashley rolled her eyes and slid her arms around Shepard's neck. A wolfish smile brightened her face when the commander's hands went to her waist. He pulled her in against him, holding her closely, and let the music guide his rhythm.

Shepard and Ashley moved together as one and he couldn't help but think of the night before Ilos. He remembered the tension that had been building between them for so long, and finally on that night, how they had broken the tension. Ashley wanted to tease him, but Tiberius was not in the mood.

"You'll learn…" she'd told him.

He did, eventually. That month they had before his death…

Ashley turned in his arms so her back was to his chest. She brought one hand up to his neck, letting the other fall to his hand on her waist. Her movements became agonizingly slow, and Shepard would have been content to just let her dance in front of him, or even to just watch her. But they moved together in unison and Tiberius couldn't help himself…

His fingers traced along her jaw line on the opposite side of her head, tips burying in the tresses of her hair. He pulled her face back to his and kissed her.

It was the kiss he'd been waiting for. For three years he'd been thinking about it. Her lips were hot against his and her mouth tasted like beer and cheap lip balm. Every nerve in his body caught fire, every sensation heightened, and all he wanted was her.

They broke away breathlessly to stare at each other for a moment.

"Get a room," a turian grumbled as he walked by, an asari leading him off the dance floor.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" asked Tiberius.

"More than you know, Skipper."

The couple pushed their way through the crowd of dancers off the dance floor. At the exit, Ashley grabbed Shepard's hand, pushing her fingers through his, and they walked together out of the club, their drinks forgotten. Back outside, the Thessian air was cool and inviting. It provided relief for one area of difficulty, but not for another. Able to breathe, but unable to think about anything else but wanting Ashley, the fog of suffocation lifted.

They made it to an elevator leading up to the _Normandy_'s docking bay. Inside the close confines of the room, Shepard pushed Ashley up against the metal surface. Before she could protest, his burning lips were against hers. His hands dipped beneath her ass and he squeezed, meanwhile grinding their hips together. Firm muscle moved beneath his fingers. A suppressed moan left Ashley's throat. Her fingers pried at his shoulder blades for a grip as he deepened the kiss, sticking his tongue into her mouth and daring her own to give chase. A high, not unlike the high of battle, pumped through him.

The elevator bell dinged and the doors opened.

"I suppose we should get out of here," Shepard whispered, breaking their lips apart and drawing her out of the elevator with him.

She scowled at him. "Not. Fair."

Shepard gave an innocent shrug, a smile, and then wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked towards the docking bay and to the _Normandy_. The lights in the CIC were low and no one was in their chairs, having already turned in for the night or gone out to celebrate their first victory over the Reapers. It made it easier for Ashley and Tiberius to creep towards the elevator.

Mashing his thumb against the first floor button while Ashley ran her hands over his chest proved to be a difficult feat for Shepard. First he pressed the third floor button, then the second, and then finally made it to the first. The elevator jerked before lifting upwards to the captain's cabin.

Hands and arms tangled as they stumbled into the room. Ashley threw Shepard playfully up against the aquarium. A school of lazy yellow fish jerked backwards. Tiberius sunk his hands into the lieutenant's hair and held her to him. At the end of the kiss, she bit him and backed away from him towards his desk. She pushed a stack of papers to the side and jumped up on the surface before seductively motioning for him to come hither.

Tiberius advanced like a predator, pushing her legs apart and settling in between them while devouring her mouth. Her boots hooked around his legs and she drew him in even further. He groaned into the kiss.

"Someone a little anxious?" Ashley asked, raking her fingers over his scalp.

Shepard's lips drifted down to the column of her neck.

"You could say that…"

He bit her earlobe and she pulled him in tighter.

"Sorry to interrupt, Commander," said EDI.

Shepard and Ashley broke away from each other, nearly wetting themselves when EDI's display lit up in the corner of the room.

"Jesus, EDI!" Tiberius exclaimed.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Shepard, but there is a message on your omni-tool from the Hierarchy of Palaven. It just came in."

"Can it wait?"

"The Hierarchy demands to speak with you right now, so no, it cannot."

"What the fu…" Shepard shook his head. Between the massive problem in his pants and the pressure from being at the galaxy's beck and call, he was certain he'd die from the frustration. "Goddamn it," he whispered, resting his head on Ashley's shoulder and tapping the top of his desk with his fists.

Ashley laughed and rubbed his back reassuringly. "It's alright, Skipper. We can resume these recreational exercises another time."

He straightened. "I guess we'll have to. EDI, set up the link. Whatever the Hierarchy wants, it better be damned important."

* * *

><p>Ashley's poem – "Love Is Enough" by William Morris<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

This is the eleventh chapter to my series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set during Mass Effect 3.

*There are some spoilers ahead for ME3.*

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect, but I certainly wish I did.

See author's note in Chapter Nine for any concerns.

**Sorry this has taken so long and that this chapter is so short. I don't have a lot of time anymore. Thanks to everyone for your support. Stick with me here. I promise there will be good stuff coming.**

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Eleven: Hero

"Now that we have recovered Palaven," said Shepard to his squad during the debrief, "we have two major points of attack. Three fleets have our backs. The plan is to split them up. The Traverse and the Terminus need help, but we need to recover Sur'Kesh. First of all…"

He brought up a holo of the galaxy and marked out the Attican Traverse and the Terminus Systems.

"The Council fleet has agreed to guard the Traverse while the Thessian fleet will guard the Terminus. The turian fleet will come with us to Sur'Kesh. For reasons unknown at this point, Cerberus has gained control of a Special Tasks research facility where Mordin has been working on a cure for the krogan genophage. He's found a batch of females able to mate and needs to get them off world before Cerberus can capture them. Without these females, the krogan clans won't unite. And if they don't unite, we don't get a krogan fleet. Without a krogan fleet, we might as well hang our asses out to dry."

Tiberius looked up at the faces of his friends and teammates. Like the first day after escaping Earth, there was a mixture of confidence and skepticism. He cracked his knuckles. He would prove the skeptics wrong. He would save as many as he could.

"The plan for recovering the facility and getting the females out is to move as quickly and quietly as possible. Expect heavy resistance from Cerberus. We'll split up into teams and retake the place piece by piece. Garrus and Liara will run point with me. Miranda will send your assignments to your omni-tool. I want you to go over them until you don't remember anything else but your assignment. Your lives depend on knowing them.

"We land in six hours and will go over the plan before we leave. That's all for now. Return to your stations."

* * *

><p>"Thane, Kasumi and I will go around the back," said Miranda, outlining the shadow team's plan for infiltrating the Cerberus-controlled area. Shepard nodded his head when Miranda pinpointed a section of the holo map on her console. "Vega and Williams will lead their Alliance team around the front to provide the distraction. Jacob, Jack and Zaeed will flank from behind and—"<p>

The door to Miranda's office suddenly opened and a red-faced Ashley Williams stepped inside with enough thunder in her eyes to power Hagalaz's atmosphere.

"Why are Liara and Garrus going with you and not me?" Ashley demanded. "I'm a damned better shot than Liara and—"

"Lieutenant, if you have any complaints about the mission, please file them—"

"You can shove your files, Cerberus bitch," Ashley snapped back. "Shepard, I should be on point with you!"

"Miranda, could you please give us a moment?" Tiberius asked calmly.

A headache began to develop in the back of his head. The last thing he needed was Ashley pissing off his commanding officer.

Miranda shook her head but left her office anyways. Heels clicked as she departed and the door hissed when it closed.

"Ash…"

"What the hell, Skipper? I thought we were in this together?"

"We are. I need you on the distraction team because I still don't trust Vega to get the job done. He's a good kid, but he's a young gun. I trust you. I need you there to make sure that this op goes off without a hitch."

Ashley crossed her arms.

"What is this really about, T?"

_ I don't want you getting hurt, for as cliché as that sounds…_

But it was true. He'd lost enough in his life. He expected to lose more over the course of the galactic war with the Reapers. Ash had lost enough. Tiberius had lost enough. He didn't want to lose anything else, especially her. If he could prevent it, he would.

Shepard rubbed a hand over the back of his neck before looking back at Ashley. "I don't want to—"

"Why are you so worried about me? I'm a big girl, Skipper. I can take care of myself."

"Like on Eden Prime? Like on Mindoir?"

The thunder in her eyes departed.

"Skipper, I—"

"No, Ash. Too many close calls. If I can stop something from happening, I will."

"You don't know what could happen down there," Ashley argued. "Anything could happen."

"I've minimized the risks. By having you on the distraction team, you're less likely to get hurt. Or…die."

"T…"

"Please, Ash. I don't want to argue with you about this anymore. I don't want to lose you, so I've given you the safest job. I care about you too much."

"Doesn't mean you have to be my nanny, doesn't mean you have to sideline me, doesn't mean you have to protect me. I'm just as capable as T'Soni and Garrus."

She turned to leave.

"Ash. Don't be like this."

"You don't want me to be like this? Don't treat me like I'm four years old, Skip. I don't need you giving me handouts."

Ashley left the office without another word. Meanwhile, Shepard slammed his fist into Miranda's desk.

_Shit._

* * *

><p>"So how'd it go with Aethyta?" Garrus asked Liara as the squad made their way through the facility.<p>

"It went well. Surprisingly. She apologized a lot. It became a bit of annoyance, but…"

"She apologized all the same," Tiberius finished for her.

"Yes."

"You going to talk to her again?" Garrus prodded.

"I will if I can. We're both busy, but in the face of a galactic war, anything could happen. So I might as well try," answered Liara. She glanced at Tiberius. "And what about you, Shepard? How was your talk with Ashley?"

The discussion that Shepard and Ashley had on Serrice seemed like ages ago now, especially since she was mad at him for not putting her on his detail.

"It went well for us too. Still not perfect, but we're working on it."

Liara nodded and smiled. "I still can't believe you never moved on from her. Especially with all the women pining for your attention…"

"Liara, can you imagine Shepard moving on from anything? He's been shoving the Reaper threat down everyone's throats for the past four years." Garrus snickered. "Moving on from Williams would just be out of character."

"That's true," said Liara. Her eyes flickered watchfully over to a corner, but flickered back to Shepard.

"We should keep moving," said Tiberius, noting that the walls of the hall they walked down seemed to press in on them.

Trouble was around the corner. Shepard could feel it.

* * *

><p>"Commander, watch out!" Garrus cried before ducking for cover.<p>

Shepard saw the Atlas Mech raise its rocket arm just in time. He rolled out of sight behind a planter box as the rocket slammed into the concrete and titanium.

"Liara, singularity!" Shepard ordered.

The whirling vortex of dark energy pulled the Atlas in, making it stumble backwards and lose balance. Shepard switched from his Revenant to his second favorite weapon, his Viper sniper rifle. He motioned for Garrus to take cover at a nearby position and lay down cover fire.

With the rattling sound of Garrus's Mattock rifle in his ears, Shepard stood up, stared down the Viper's sights, took aim, and fired a straight shot through the mech's right shoulder joint. He lined up another shot and pulled the trigger several more times, each shot piercing the sensitive joint areas. Shepard took cover, ejected a thermal clip and pounded another in before he repeated the same task of whittling down the Atlas's stability. Air hissed once one of Shepard's shot punctured the tubing. The left leg staggered and then fell forward, the indomitable force of gravity pulling the giant machine with it. The operator slammed one of the mech's arms into the ground for support. It only provided a wider area for Shepard to strike.

The Atlas's arm popped and hissed, and with one more straight shot through the sights, the arm collapsed to the side. The mech toppled backwards with its Cerberus operator still inside. Before Shepard could rejoice at the machine's defeat, more Cerberus troops flooded the area. The Atlas operator climbed out of the cockpit and raised his assault rifle before joining his fellow Cerberus agents.

"Hold positions!" the commander shouted, popping off open-sighted shots at the Cerberus centurions and troopers.

Liara warped the shields of a centurion and then turned on a trooper in close proximity, capping him four times in various places with well aimed pistol shots. Another singularity came to life just behind Shepard. He turned to see two white-armored agents sucked into the swirls.

Quickly switching back to Charlotte, Shepard moved over to join Garrus.

"We're getting owned out here!" said the turian. "We can't hold them off for long."

"If we don't, we lose the female and then we're really screwed!"

Shepard nudged Garrus out of the way just as a commando threw a biotic lift in the turian's direction.

Tiberius squeezed Charlotte's trigger, spraying heat-projectile bullets at the advancing commandos. Agents came in a never-ending stream, pouring through the loading platform's doors. There were only three of them to defend the female krogan's pod, and things were beginning to look bleak.

"Where the hell's our backup?" shouted Garrus.

"They're coming! Just hold on!"

Liara moved to join Shepard and Garrus on the left. Shepard then sidestepped further left, hoping to outflank the flux of Cerberus agents. He sent a concussive shot into their ranks and then laid down a heavy curtain of fire, scattering them, allowing Garrus and Liara to pick them off one by one.

After taking cover behind a half-wall, the commander pressed his earpiece.

"Where's our backup?"

"Right here, Commander."

Shepard peeked over the top of the wall to see Vega holding his Widow sniper rifle in one hand and Ashley with her Vindicator bust through the opposite doorway. Behind them were six more Alliance soldiers.

By spreading out, they were able to corral the Cerberus soldiers into the center of the room near the downed Atlas. Shepard hoped they would surrender, seeing that they were both outnumbered and surrounded; hopefully they'd be able to take at least one alive, get some answers. But until the last soldier lie dead, the bastards didn't give up.

"Well I guess that takes care of that," said Vega, resting his Widow against his left shoulder casually.

Shepard was about to collapse Charlotte when he heard a rush of footsteps coming from the corridor behind him. He turned, trigger finger ready, and stared down the sights.

"Hey, put your damn gun away, you prick!" Jack snapped at Shepard.

Tiberius relaxed his rifle in the crook of his arm.

"Did we miss the fun part?" asked Zaeed, who had already lit a victory cigar.

The team began taking stock of the situation. Jacob scanned the weapons and armor of the Cerberus soldiers to salvage whatever tech was still intact. Jack went around making sure that each of them was dead, giving the bodies a nudge with her boot. When one commando stirred, she pumped him with a shotgun round at point blank range. Zaeed accompanied his ex-convict friend in her ventures while Vega and Garrus showed off their sniper rifles to each other. Liara found the Atlas's data core and immediately plugged it into her omni-tool.

Shepard turned to find Ashley. She was talking to one of the Alliance soldiers. When she realized that someone was staring at her, she looked up. When her eyes met Shepard's, a look developed on her face. To Shepard, it looked something like respect. Or appreciation.

"Commander, is the cargo secure?" Joker chimed in on Shepard's earpiece.

Tiberius pressed a hand to his ear. "Cargo is secure."

"Miranda and the shadow team just arrived. Coming in for a pickup. See you in five, Commander."

* * *

><p>"Proper introduction. Name is Mordin Solus, STG. Pleased to meet you, Lieutenant Williams. Kirrahe spoke highly of you. Said you were good soldier, true to form. Was right. Can see now why Shepard never moved on."<p>

Unfazed, Ashley shook the salarian doctor's hand.

"Pleased to meet you too, Doctor."

"Mordin," the salarian corrected. He looked around the _Normandy_'s new lab and sighed. "Ah… Will need to settle in. Lots to look at. Need to go over krogan female vital signs, make sure there are no fluctuations. Need stability. See you later?"

"You can count on it," said Shepard, ushering Ashley out of the lab and into the corridor between it and the armory.

"He seems friendly," Ashley commented.

"Just don't get on his bad side. It's not a pretty side to be on."

"If I've learned anything about the salarians and the Special Tasks, it's definitely to not get on their bad side."

Shepard smiled and was about to reach for the green door display to enter the armory when Ashley grabbed onto his arm and held him back.

"Hey," she said. One of her hands linked with his. "I'm sorry about before the mission. I was frustrated. I wanted to be there with you. I know why you did what you did and I'm not mad at you."

"Good," Shepard replied, tightening his grip on her hand. "Apology accepted. As long as you keep your shit together."

Ashley smiled and punched his shoulder with her free hand. "You talking smack to me, soldier? Maybe I should make you drop and give me twenty."

"Maybe you should," Tiberius growled, leaning in for a kiss. In between heated breaths, he said, "But I'm the captain of this vessel. And what I say goes."

Ashley pulled away from him – their hands still linked – and grinned.

"I don't know about that. Might have to prove it."

"Amidst some 'recreational exercises'?" he asked, a glint in his eyes.

"You know me too well."

Tiberius grabbed her by her hips and lowered his lips to her ear. "You know how much I've missed you, Ash?"

"No, sir," she whispered back. Ashley's hands tightened into Shepard's shirt, pulling the fabric from the waistband of his trousers. "I guess you'll just have to show me."

Cool skin met warm skin when her fingers traced the outline of his abdominal muscles.

Shepard smirked. "Promises, promises."

He bent his head and kissed her. Ashley kissed him back. Their lips clung together for fear that they would break apart. When one of his hands gripped her jaw, she kissed him harder. Tiberius tasted more of her. He forced her mouth open and she breathed warm air against his tongue.

"Bet you five creds that Lawson's got this on camera," said Ashley in between a kiss.

"Bet you another five that the crew's watching it with her right now," Shepard replied jokingly, nudging her chin with his nose and then kissing her neck.

The cords of muscle near Ashley's throat tightened once his lips touched her flesh and he heard her sigh. The hand underneath his shirt snaked around his back and she pressed herself against him. To keep himself from falling over, he braced an arm against the corridor wall. He nipped gently upward along her pulse and then back down to her clavicle, where he spotted the chain of her Alliance dog tags.

"Hate to be the one to ask, but can we get out of here?" Ashley asked.

The stress in her voice did not go unnoticed.

"Now look who's anxious…"

"T, I swear—"

He shut her up with another kiss. "Don't worry, Lieutenant. I wouldn't want to put you under duress for too long."

She blinked at him, eyes dark with both sadness and lust, and said, "It's already been too long."

And to that, Shepard agreed.

But before they could get to the elevator, Kelly Chambers called to Tiberius.

"Commander, you have an unread message your private terminal. This one is from Urdnot Wrex."

Tiberius looked back at Ashley.

"Galaxy needs you, Commander," she said. "I'll be on the crew deck."

"Ash, are you sure?"

"I'm not sure about a lot of things anymore, but I'm sure that the galaxy needs you if it wants to survive." Then she winked. "Time to play hero again, isn't it?"

But this time Shepard didn't want to play the hero: he just wanted Ashley.

"I'll let you know when I'm done," he promised.

"You better."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! More to come in the near (hopefully) future!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

This is the twelfth chapter to my series, "The Arrival Has Come". Reviews are welcome and encouraged. The story is set during Mass Effect 3.

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect.

See author's note in Chapter Nine for any concerns.

**My plan is to wrap up this series within the next couple chapters. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favorited. I couldn't do it without your encouragement and support. Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Twelve: Catalyst

"More of these things?" Shepard exclaimed, popping off shots with his Viper at Reaperized krogan.

As if the cannon-armed batarians on Earth or the biotically charged asari on Serrice weren't bad enough, regenerating bloodthirsty krogan were much worse.

"More enemies is always good," the red-armored krogan at Shepard's elbow pronounced before tossing a warp and loading his shotgun.

Wrex – the behemoth warrior and krogan clan leader – bellowed and charged straight into the mess of mutated krogan.

"Nice to see some things don't change," Ashley quipped.

She took cover behind a rail and ejected the red-hot thermal clip in her Vindicator. Once a new one took its place, she nodded to Shepard, stood and switched places with him. Shepard reloaded as she laid down fire. From his position behind an unstable crate, he heard her launch a concussive round.

Tiberius stood up to fire. Through the sights he spotted several monsters gathered around Wrex. Even while surrounded, the sturdy bastard dealt damage.

Ash was right. Some things never changed.

* * *

><p>"What now, Commander?" asked Miranda.<p>

Shepard surveyed the members of the three ground teams. Wrex, Ashley, Miranda, Garrus, an overeager Grunt, Thane, Mordin, and Kasumi all stared at him waiting for orders. He nestled the butt of his rifle into the crook of his arm and then jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.

"Well for one, going back isn't an option. Only way out of this place is forward."

"Commander, I've detected several shuttlecraft headed in your direction," EDI piped up over the intercom connected to Shepard's earpiece. "LADAR detection marks these craft as Cerberus."

"Thanks for the warning, EDI. Make sure Joker has the shuttle ready for a quick pickup."

"Of course, Commander."

Then the earpiece went silent.

"More Cerberus?" Ashley asked. "What do they want this time?"

"Who knows? Shepard, the key codes, this location… It could be anything," said Thane calmly.

"How do you wanna do this, Shepard?" Wrex asked after a moment of quiet. Blue blood spatter from the Reaper-krogan mutants covered his red armor. He noticed a splotch on his shoulder pad and flicked it off as if the fluid were a mere annoyance.

"We need to recover the starship key codes first. I will lead Kasumi and Wrex to the data core to get those. Ashley: you, Thane and Garrus will disable the mechs in the armory. Meanwhile, Miranda, you will take Mordin and Grunt and shut down the VI so we have control of this station. Meet in the garage once you've completed your assignment."

"Understood, Commander," Miranda replied as she brought up her omnitool to find the VI hub's location.

"Sent to do a pansy whacker's job," Grunt grumbled. "There's no glory in this."

"There will be once we get our starships back," Wrex reminded the young krogan. "Now listen to your Battlemaster and do your duty."

"Aye, aye."

Shepard took one last look at the people around him. "Everyone good with their orders?"

Silent nods of affirmation followed.

"Good," he said. "Let's get going."

* * *

><p>"One more minute, Shep," Kasumi announced.<p>

"Can't you make it go faster?" Shepard shouted over the cacophony of gunfire and incessant mech chatter.

"I'll try."

Wrex blasted a hole into the chest of an oncoming LOKI mech while Shepard picked them off one by one.

"I got it!" Kasumi exclaimed.

There was a series of beeps and clicks and then Kasumi was standing beside Shepard. She brought up her omnitool and half a second later disappeared beneath the guise of her tactical cloak.

"Commander, where are you?" Miranda radioed. "We're in the garage with Ashley's team already, but—"

"We're pinned down by the mechs," he radioed back, taking cover behind the wall just before a LOKI's stray bullet clipped the edge of his shield.

"But we cleared—"

"Just hold position! We'll be out of here soon."

"Negative, Commander," Ashley's voice chirped over the comm. "We're coming to get you out of there!"

"Stand down, Lieutenant—"

"Hostiles detected."

Tiberius rolled his eyes and whipped out his omniblade, slamming it into the mech that rounded the corner. It sputtered, shuddered, and then collapsed at his feet. He pressed a finger back to his earpiece as the orange holographic slid back into his omnitool.

"Ash, we're almost out of here. Stay where you are. That's an order."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds. Shepard took the time to cover Wrex as he advanced forward.

"Aye, aye, Commander."

A cold chill crept up his spine when he remembered the last time she had said that to him.

He had died.

* * *

><p>"There you are!"<p>

Garrus grinned and clapped Shepard on the shoulder.

"It's about time," he said as they walked together towards the door leading to the garage. "I thought Williams was going to lose it. Almost did. Had to have Grunt restrain her for a couple of minutes. And then Miranda started freaking out and it's not good when the Ice Queen starts—"

"Let's just get out of here," said Shepard wearily.

He'd taken one too many hits while his shields were down. Most of his injuries were bruises, but there was a nice burn on his side where a heat projectile had ripped open the weave of his armor and melted some of the layers to his uniform underneath. He applied medigel during the firefight, but it didn't feel like it was enough.

"Sounds good to me."

Garrus opened the door to the garage and they sauntered in.

The garage was basic. Extra machine parts and storage crates lay strewn about the floor, some on their respective pallets, others lined up in columns. Makos – stripped for parts – lined both sides of the large room. There were two full-length roll-up doors on the far side, with machinery hanging overhead. A lone orange console thrummed nearby one of the doors.

It wasn't until Shepard, Wrex, Kasumi, and Garrus were at the center of the garage that Grunt nodded to Ashley and let her go to Shepard.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Ash, I'm fine. We're all fine."

"The shuttle should be here soon. Do you have the key codes?" Miranda asked, getting back to business.

"Yes." Kasumi drew up her omnitool to show them off. "Everything we need. And maybe some more."

"Perfect timing."

Everyone in the garage turned the direction in which the voice had come. Standing in front of a full unit of Cerberus troopers, centurions, and guardians was a light armored man. He was a Cerberus operative, as indicated by the yellow symbol slapped onto the collar of his undershirt and the chestplate of his black armor. To Shepard he looked of Chinese descent – all angles and curves – but there was something in the strong line of his jaw that indicated he was more than Asian.

A sharp intake of air, something like a gasp and then a sneer, came from Miranda.

"Kai Leng," she spat.

The name could have been a curse.

"Miranda Lawson," said the man, opening his arms as if he were about to embrace her. But Miranda crossed her arms and sat back on her heels standoffishly. The man's arms fell back to his sides.

"Come now, Miranda, my dear. Let's play nice."

"As if you've _ever_ played nice."

"Excuse me," Shepard interjected. "Who the hell are you?"

"How rude of me. I'm Kai Leng, the Illusive Man's tactical leader. And I'm here to take you with me, Shepard."

"You'll die before you take him, Leng!" Miranda shouted, pulling out her Carnifex and aiming at Leng's head.

The Cerberus troops behind Leng withdrew their weapons, but Leng held up his hand and stared icily at Miranda.

"Built a bit of a soft spot for the Commander, have we, Lawson?" Leng smirked.

"He's done more for me than Cerberus ever did!"

Leng brought a hand to his face and rubbed his forehead. "I don't have time to argue the finer points of that debate with you. And quite frankly, I don't give a shit. Shepard, you're coming with me."

"Why?" he asked, tightening his hold on Charlotte's stock.

"Because the Illusive Man gave me orders to bring you in. I don't give a rat's ass as to why. And if you come now, your little friends might just live."

"There's the surprise of the century," Miranda grumbled, still holding her pistol at eye level.

"Whole universe is filled with surprises, princess. You have ten seconds, Commander. _One._"

"This is bullshit," Wrex declared, pushing his way forward.

Before Shepard could stop him, the krogan leader cranked his shotgun and took a shot straight at Leng. The shot did nothing more than pepper Leng's shields and make his lips twist upward into a wry snarl.

"_Ten_."

Everyone jumped into action. It was a repeat of the Cerberus encounter on the Citadel, Shepard thought. Except this time he had two extremely pissed off krogan on his side.

"You screw with Shepard, you little bastard, and you screw with all of us!" Wrex barked, stabbing a nubby finger in Leng's direction before taking cover behind a pallet of crates.

"Enemies! Good!" Grunt bellied up to the pallet to join Wrex.

Garrus and Thane stepped back to snipe while the rest of the squad moved forward to join the fight. Shepard launched a concussive shot straight into a trooper's face. Miranda took the moment to use a biotic lift on the same trooper. While he struggled in midair Ashley shot him. Kasumi cloaked herself and Mordin unleashed a powerful incineration on a guardian, halting his shielded advance.

They were still in the thick of the fight when Joker's voice came over Shepard's comm.

"Commander, the shuttle's ready for pickup."

"We're in the middle of a shitstorm, Joker! Any chance you can get us out of it?"

"Does a krogan have balls? Where do you want me?"

Shepard's rifle rattled in his hands as he replied, "At the station garage! Hurry up!"

"Yes, sir!"

It was then that Shepard noticed Kai Leng had disappeared from sight. The members of his crew busily shot down and destroyed the advancing members of Cerberus, but Leng was nowhere in the fight.

Then there was a tap on Shepard's shoulder.

"Commander."

Tiberius turned just in time to take a swift, powerful punch to the mouth. He tasted the bitter copper taste of his own blood. Charlotte fell from his hands and clattered to the garage floor. Leng stared down at Shepard, hatred in his eyes, and put up his fists in a fighter's stance.

"Come on," Leng mocked, "show me what the great Commander Shepard is capable of."

While he was in the Tenth Street Reds, Tiberius had done a lot of fighting. It had transferred with him when he joined the Alliance and the N7 special forces. He was used to fighting dirty.

Blood and saliva flew into Leng's face, temporarily opening up his defenses. Shepard placed a quick one-two jab, ducked beneath a haymaker, and then brought his fist up under Leng's chin. Leng stumbled back against a pallet before righting himself.

He stepped back, threw up his guard, and waited for Leng to make the next move.

"You fight dirty, Shepard. I like it," Leng crooned.

Shepard was prepared for the initial move, but not the rapid succession of a roundhouse kick and three punches to his right ribs. He groaned. The last one's force was enough to jar his kidney.

He'd stopped paying attention to the fight around him. It was just he and Leng facing off.

Leng snarled and lunged. Shepard leaned back to dodge Leng's strike. He batted away the blow with his forearm, twisted, and landed a smart punch straight into the Cerberus operative's gut; the titanium of Shepard's gauntlet met Leng's chestplate, popping Shepard's knuckles as well as doubling Leng over from the force.

Shepard then grabbed onto the man's head and banged it against his knee. At that moment, Leng took hold of the commander's leg, lifted him into the air, and then threw him onto the floor like Shepard was weightless. Shepard's head banged against the garage floor and for a moment all he saw were flashes of white.

"You think you're the only one Cerberus upgraded?"

Leng's boot slammed against the commander's right side again, bruising his ribs. It took everything in Shepard's power to roll over and away to get out of Leng's reach. He climbed to his feet, blurry-eyed, and faced his attacker again.

"I'm taking you in, Commander, and there's nothing you can do about it," Leng sneered.

"Commander, the shuttle's here!" Joker radioed.

The Cerberus operative seized the opportunity to pound another two punches into Shepard's face and then another three into his gut. Tiberius could hardly breathe when Leng stepped back to deliver another kick into his face. He prepared himself for the blow, but it never came.

Instead, his vision cleared and he saw Thane and Leng going head-to-head. Thane's movements were a blur, just as fast as Leng's. It was like a dance – the assassin against the agent.

"Shepard, leave!" Thane shouted as he deflected Leng's blows.

Tiberius ran to Charlotte and picked her up off the ground. He aimed at the Cerberus operative but a series of shots spattered against his shields. He took cover and then looked up over the machinery he hid behind.

The Cerberus troops had received backup and were steadily gaining ground. Wrex, Grunt, and Ashley had retreated one by one from the front of the fight further back until they fought side-by-side with the rest of the team. There were too many of them.

Miranda stood at the console by the door plugging away, trying to get the garage door open so they could make their escape. Garrus covered her while barking orders to the others, telling them to back up and make their way towards the door. Finally, it opened, and just outside, the Kodiak hummed, her engines running and ready to go.

"Shepard, we have to leave!" Miranda yelled. She biotically slammed a centurion before he fired at Mordin.

_Damn __it._

With the rest of his team making their way towards the Kodiak, and Thane still locked in combat with Leng, Shepard knew a choice was before him. He made his decision.

He fell back to better cover, then stood and pulled the trigger of his Revenant. He took down three Cerberus troopers progressing towards Thane and Leng.

"Shepard!"

It was Ashley who called him this time. Her cry was desperate – a plea – begging him to come with her. But he couldn't. He had to save Thane. He had walked out of the Collector base with everyone alive – how could he let someone die now?

Finally he had to reload, so he took cover.

"Shepard, get your ass over here now!" Garrus shouted over the comm.

"I'm not leaving Thane!"

"And we're not leaving you!"

"Shepard—" Thane grunted between strikes. "Leave—" Punch. Deflection. Kick. "Now."

Tiberius rose from his cover and shot down another trooper hopping over a piece of machinery. From his left flank a centurion appeared. The first couple of shots pinged against the commander's shields. But as his shields weakened, Shepard was forced to find new cover.

"GO!" Thane cried as he jabbed Leng in the chest.

"SHEPARD!" Ashley yelled again.

It was then that he realized there was no way he could save Thane, not without sacrificing the rest of his team. He hated himself more with every step backwards, leading him to the garage door, the Kodiak, and his team.

He kept firing until he stood at the shuttle's entrance. The Cerberus troops still marched onward, shooting, and Thane and Leng were still going at it.

Everything slowed.

Thane grabbed onto Leng's wrist and twisted hard at an angle. Leng grimaced but didn't cry out. With hatred and blood in his eyes, Leng twisted his arm violently again, ending Thane's death grip. Then Leng kicked Thane's legs sideways, breaking the drell's leg and sending him to his knees.

Thane's chest heaved from the physical exertion, and through the comm, Shepard heard the assassin's low, wheezy breathing. Thane's eyes met the commander's through the firefight. There was a look of peace on Thane's face, and he closed his eyes as Leng's hands wrapped around his head. After a sharp twist, Thane's body fell to the floor.

Shepard's throat closed. He meant to cry out, but nothing came.

Thane was gone.

"Shepard, get in!" Wrex grunted, grabbing onto the commander's arm and dragging him into the Kodiak.

The shuttle door closed and the Kodiak lifted off the ground.

The image of Thane's face right before his death left another scar in Shepard's already wounded mind.

* * *

><p>"You should go see Chakwas," Ashley said quietly as the team boarded the<em>Normandy<em>.

Shepard and Wrex concluded their business on Tuchanka once they were back at the Urdnot camp. With the starship key codes, clan Urdnot and all the clans united under Urdnot would get their starships back. It was a courtesy of the turian Hierarchy after deciding that the Reaper threat could only be prevented from getting worse with the help of a krogan fleet.

Aside from doing business, Shepard hadn't spoken a word to anyone, not even Ashley. Everyone respected his silence and no one tried to comfort him. Ashley's recommendation was the first word passed between Shepard and the ground team.

Tiberius just nodded and went to see Chakwas. She didn't say anything about Thane or ask questions about the mission. She told him he had a broken rib. She treated his burn and gave him a dose of medication to help treat the bruises, stiffness, and soreness.

For a troubled mind though, the doctor had no cure.

* * *

><p>Shepard threw his helmet at the closet, smashing the holographic interface. The orange lights flickered and twitched and then went out altogether.<p>

Tiberius sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands.

He had expected Thane's death for more than a year. He knew Thane would die one way or another – in battle or slowly from his disease – but it didn't numb the pain of his death. Shepard already saw too many dead faces in his dreams. Thane's face would join Shepard's N7 squad and Kaidan Alenko.

Tiberius pressed his palms into his eye sockets as if doing so would rid his mind of the scene of Thane's death, or the look of peace on his drell friend's face as Leng bent to snap his neck. But it didn't, and Shepard knew it would never leave him.

He stood and walked swiftly towards his desk. He sat down in his chair in front of his console and placed his fingers on the keys.

_Kolyat __Krios_,

_This __is __Commander __Shepard __of __the _Normandy_, __Alliance __Military_. _Your __father, __Thane __Krios, __was __part __of __my __team __and __a __good __friend_

Shepard stopped. He couldn't finish, nor did he want to.

The last thing he wanted to do was write a message notifying Thane's son that his father had died; that he had died saving Shepard.

Instead of finishing the message, Tiberius braced an elbow against the desk and placed his forehead against his knuckles.

_Damn __it,_ he thought. _Damn __it._

"Commander, Lieutenant Williams is outside," EDI notified him. "She wants to talk to you, but you have forbid the crew from entering. She seems worried."

"Tell her to leave me alone. I don't want to talk to anyone."

"As you wish, Commander."

A minute of silence passed until EDI spoke again.

"Commander, she is threatening to stick a knife in my AI core if I do not let her in."

Shepard sighed.

"Let her in."

There was a hissing sound behind him – the door to his cabin opened. It hissed again and he heard footsteps coming towards him. "Skipper?"

He straightened, put on his best face, and then turned in his chair.

"Are you alright?" Ashley asked, concern and worry expressed in her eyes.

There was no fooling her, but it didn't stop him.

"I'm fine," he lied. He turned away. He couldn't even look her in the face.

"You can't lie to me. I know you too well. Do you want to…talk about it?"

"I'll be fine."

"We both know that's bullshit."

She walked closer and leaned against his desk, placing her hands on the ledge and staring at Shepard.

"Talk to me, Skipper. Thane was your friend. You were close. I'm here for you."

He was quiet for a moment, debating the words he wanted to say.

Shepard sighed heavily.

"I appreciate you being here, Ash, but…"

"You can't do this alone," she told him. She came closer, cradling Shepard's cheek with her hand.

He touched her hand gently and then moved it from his face.

"I…" he began. "I could have saved him. He wasn't supposed to die like that. Not like that."

He traced a finger over her palm.

"It's my fault that he's dead, Ash."

"No, Skipper. No, it's not."

"How is it not? If I had been stronger or faster I could have taken Leng on my own. But no. I was weak. Like I was weak on Akuze. Like I was slow on Virmire. I couldn't— It's all my fault."

She stared down into his eyes; Ashley's brown and smoldering with embers of worry. Then she said, "I care about you too much to let you sit here and beat yourself up about something you didn't have control over, Skipper," said Ashley, closing her hand on his. "I love you too much to let you do this to yourself."

She sighed and then spoke again:

"Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'  
>We are not now that strength which in old days<br>Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,-  
>One equal temper of heroic hearts,<br>Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will  
>To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."<p>

Shepard was quiet. He realized then that she was right. And that now it was her turn to make him feel good enough, to make him realize that he was not alone, and for one brief moment in time, that there was a force in the universe more powerful than death.

Shepard stood to his feet and pulled her body in against his, their lips connecting. There was no urgency – despite that there was only so much time they had together – and no rush. Ashley slipped her arms around Shepard's strong shoulders while he grabbed onto her hips and brought her closer.

She smelt like smoke and gun oil, remnants of their battle on Tuchanka. Their feet moved together until her back met the cool surface of the aquarium. Shepard withdrew from the kiss to look at her face. She just smiled at him, reassuring him.

Tiberius went in for another kiss. Their tongues touched together and a quiet moan escaped Ashley's throat. His lips parted from hers before they melded to her jaw line, lavishing affection that he had waited years to give. Ash sighed, meanwhile letting her hands grab at his shirt and pull it from his trousers. Her hips pressed against Shepard's, and his other arm went around her waist after he pulled her hair free from the bun on the back of her head.

Boots slipped off feet; feet moved down the steps to stand in front of Shepard's bed. Sighs and moans loosed with gentle touches of hands; hands pulled at clothing; clothing fell carelessly to the floor.

He trapped her face in his hands, looking down into her eyes. Ash reached up to remove his hands from her face and lace their fingers together. He pressed their hands into the sheets of his bed.

Shepard kissed her again before he whispered his love for her.

Hours later Tiberius lay looking up through the ceiling window once again, this time holding Ashley against him. Her head rested against his shoulder, her body curled up alongside his. She had fallen asleep a while ago. Her hands curled into fists on top of Shepard's chest and her breathing was slow and even, signifying her state of sleep.

But for Shepard there was no sleep, even with the beautiful woman at his side.

Death drew all to an end. Death was inevitable. Death hurt for those that lived on. Death was the catalyst that brought him to love Ashley. For fear of death, he had found love.

Many things had yet to be done. But for once, Shepard wasn't going to worry about them.

He decided then that despite death – despite its inevitability for all mortal life – he would live. He would survive. He would fight. He would live for his friends. He would live for Thane. He would live for Ashley.

He had already conquered death before.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading. The poem Ashley recites is the end of "Ulysses" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. I encourage everyone to read the whole thing if you haven't already. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. More in the future. <strong>


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen is finally here!

As with all disclaimers, I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect.

See author's note in Chapter Nine for any concerns.

**Sorry for the delay, folks. I've been busy working on other projects and haven't had time. After seeing the new "Take Earth Back" trailer though, I couldn't resist. I was definitely inspired. If you haven't seen the new trailer, watch it now. A thank-you to all you who have posted comments and critical reviews. I'm still in the process of diving into the canon, so I'm sorry if something is a bit off. After _Deception_ though, I'm probably golden. Anyhow, thank you for sticking with me. Hope that this whets your appetite and soothes your hunger for the next couple of weeks until ME3's release.**

* * *

><p> The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Thirteen: Rannoch

Shepard must have dozed off for a moment because the next thing he knew, Ashley stirred beside him. He glanced at his clock. 0517.

Tiberius slipped back down onto the mattress of the bed right behind Ashley and began to stroke her hair. It was soft and feather-like. A few strands fell between Shepard's fingers. He let his fingers touch her shoulder. Then they followed the long curve of her bicep, down to her forearm, where he moved his hand from her arm to her hips. He leaned forward and pushed aside the hair in her face with his nose and then planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Ash…" he whispered, trying to coax her from rest.

The hand on her hip slithered down to touch her flat stomach.

"Mmghm…" she grumbled, half awake.

Shepard smiled again and kissed her temple.

She woke up shortly after that, opening her wide brown eyes, turning over and staring up at him. Shepard wrapped his arms around her waist and bent over to kiss her on the lips.

"Hi," she said after the kiss. Her eyelids fluttered as she tried to focus.

"Morning," he replied.

"Someone just couldn't get enough last night, could he?" she playfully teased.

"There's someone else in this bed who's equally guilty." He nipped her bottom lip before kissing her.

She smirked. "Guilty as charged. Promise to use handcuffs?"

He growled before settling his body over hers. "Don't tempt me."

Ashley laughed. As her laughter faded, her hand came up and gently touched the side of his face. Suddenly serious, she said, "I'm not good with this mushy stuff, Skipper, but I want you to know that I love you."

Shepard laughed before he said, "I love you too."

They shared a gentle kiss and then Shepard pulled away.

"Duty calls, Lieutenant. We best get moving."

"Yeah, yeah. You trying to get rid of me or something?"

"Never."

They showered separately – to prevent further _distractions_ – and then found all their proper garments as well as their matching pairs. By the time they were both fully dressed, EDI's voice came over the comm.

"Shepard, there is an incoming message. Would you like to take it in your quarters or in the briefing room?"

Tiberius glanced at Ashley, who nodded to him before taking her leave from his quarters.

"I'll take it in here, EDI. Who's the message from?"

"The Migrant Fleet, Shepard. It's Tali."

* * *

><p>"Rannoch is already under Reaper control. This is a suicide mission," Miranda stated flatly.<p>

"Fortunately Shepard's got a good track record with those," Garrus reminded her.

"I thought that the Migrant Fleet didn't answer to the Council."

Shepard nodded at Miranda. "You're right, they don't. Tali's calling it a personal favor. Save her people and the Fleet will help us."

"The Council and the Alliance will never agree to help," said Ashley. "There's no embassy on the Citadel so the Council has no tie to the quarians. Plus, they've pushed the Alliance away. They're basically screwed and they asked for it."

"Which is exactly why Tali called and not the Council. The Admiralty Board selected her to fill her father's spot."

"And the Admiralty Board agreed on this?" asked Ashley.

"They can't be picky right now. We don't help them, they die."

"And what do we get in return, aside from their fleet to help take back Earth?"

"Weapon and tech that would help us in the war."

"I do love good quarian engineering," Garrus chuckled. "I'm in. We owe it to Tali to at least try and help her. It's not going to be a walk in the garden, but I think it's worth a shot."

"Park, Garrus. It's park," James corrected, nudging the turian.

"Oh hell." Ashley threw her hands in the air. "Spectres do what we have to do. Let's do this."

* * *

><p>"Give 'em hell!" Joker shouted over the comm.<p>

Shepard grasped onto his seat harness as the flight lieutenant maneuvered the _Normandy _with precision in and out of the Reaper armada. As Joker spoke the words the main gun came to life, packing a punch that flattened Tiberius against his chair.

"Enjoying the ride, kids? 'Cause it's about to get better!"

The _Normandy _barrel-rolled out of the reach of a Reaper's tentacles and then pitched to avoid an unfriendly particle beam. Shepard observed the chaos through the cockpit window.

Miranda was right. Rannoch was in Reaper control.

As if making the jump beyond the Perseus Veil hadn't been interesting enough, being greeted by thousands of Reapers was far more interesting. Being thrust into immediate evasive maneuvers was the stuff of legends. Thank god Joker was a legendary pilot, Shepard thought.

The _Normandy _gun spliced a tentacle particle beam in half. The appendage burst into flame on the starboard side, causing a Council fighter nearby to be caught in the damage radius. The fighter's left wing blackened with smoke and tendrils of orange fire. Then it dove towards the planet surface, and as it descended, another behemoth Reaper fired at the falling fighter. Bits of scrap flew towards the _Normandy_ and Joker rolled the avoid them.

"This is Alpha team leader, 21st Fighter group," came a frantic voice over the cockpit intercom. "We're taking heavy damage! The 23rd just lost their last fighter! Recommend retreat through the relay!"

"Negative, Alpha leader!" Shepard responded. "Draw enemy fire east of the quarian position. Alliance backup should be on its way!"

"We're getting torched out here, Commander! If backup doesn't arrive soon, we're all screwed!"

"They _will _come, Alpha leader. Hold off enemy fire for as long as possible. Understand?"

Shepard clenched his teeth. If backup didn't come, and they lost the 21st Council Fighter group, they might as well dig their graves on Rannoch's surface.

"Aye, aye, Commander."

The choices were his. So were the consequences.

* * *

><p>"Don't let them break through that line!" Shepard shouted to the ground team.<p>

James stepped back to join Garrus at a higher sniper position. Jack threw a biotic shockwave through a line of scrambling husks. Black synthetic flesh and crystal blue fluid erupted into the air. Zaeed swore madly while squeezing the trigger of his Avenger. Jacob, Miranda, and Liara played biotic tag with another advancing group of husks.

As Shepard's team of highly skilled and highly trained misfits held the line, Shepard, Ashley, and Kasumi directed quarian soldiers onto shuttles for transport. The Alliance team assigned to the _Normandy _came rushing up behind them.

The team leader, an Alliance chief warrant officer, yelled in Shepard's ear.

"The area behind us is clear, but Reaper reinforcements just landed ahead of our position! They brought in the heavies! We have to make our push now, Commander!"

As the last quarian stepped onto the shuttle it lifted off. Shepard turned to the officer and said, "Split your team and have half join us. You stay here and hold the landing pad. Call in more shuttles, and get us some damn air support! I don't care if it's quarian, Alliance, Council, or even the goddamn batarians! Just get it _now_!"

"Aye, aye!"

* * *

><p>Shepard and Ashley treaded lightly through the haze of smoke and dust with their rifles at the ready. Behind them followed the remainder of the <em>Normandy <em>squad, the warrant officer's men, and the ragged quarian marines they had just saved.

They needed to cross the no-man's land into geth territory to retrieve Kal'Reegar and his unit. After the Reapers wiped out quarian communications, Kal had no way of responding to the admiral's orders for retreat back to the home base. In her conversation with Shepard, Tali made it imperative that he help Kal make it back.

Dust swirled in Shepard's face. There was no way the quarians would be able to live on Rannoch after this. The destruction caused by both challenging the geth and the Reaper invasion would render the planet uninhabitable for the quarians.

"Shepard, I am picking up geth chatter on multiple frequencies," said EDI.

Tiberius pressed a finger to his earpiece to engage the conversation.

"What are they saying?"

"The communication logarithm that Legion uploaded to my drive is unable to decode their dialogue patterns. However, low-grade thermal signatures beyond your position indicate geth presence, along with a concentration of high signatures that could possibly be Kal'Reegar's unit."

"Thanks for the heads up, EDI."

"One more thing. The Alliance reinforcements arrived, but not in the expected numbers. By my estimate, you have less than an hour before the Reapers destroy every ship in Rannoch's orbit."

"Goddamn it."

Shepard shifted the weight of his Revenant in his hands and turned to face his followers.

"We have to move."

Ashley nodded and motioned for everyone to move. "Let's go!"

Despite the poor condition of the quarian marines they were able to keep up. After a few minutes a structure came into Shepard's view. The dust shifted as they approached.

"It's the geth bunker," explained one of the quarians. "Reegar's unit was trying to destroy it."

"What's it good for?"

"It's where the geth stationed their hubs. Take out the hubs and you have less geth to fight."

Shepard nodded. "Everyone be alert. Watch out for geth. Stick together. Mordin, Garrus, James: see if there's another entrance. Take the Alliance boys and two quarians with you. The rest of you, with me."

"Mother of goddman shitting hell," Jack cursed. "When this shit's over, I hope I never see another fucking flashlight head again."

"Bitch, you have no idea," said Ashley.

Jack laughed.

It was not a laughing matter when Shepard's squad was met by a group of husks and Reaperized creatures. Yet somehow, Jack and Zaeed seemed to think it was hilarious. While Shepard focused his fire on the larger yahg-like beast advancing towards him, he was thankful that Jack was there to laugh in the face of death.

Takes a sociopath to know one, he thought as Ashley joined him in bringing the beast down.

After descending four sets of stairs into the belly of the bunker, Shepard's squad came upon the oddest sight.

Sitting in the middle of the room was a group of quarians. They were armed. Lining the edges of the room were armed geth. Between the lack of facial expression displayed by both parties, Shepard was unable to tell if it was a standoff or not.

"There's no cover," Ashley whispered after peeking around the corner. "We go in there guns blazing and we're screwed."

"I've been hearing that a lot today." Shepard checked his Revenant to make sure the thermal clip was firmly in place. "Well, we won't know anything until we make a move."

Shepard swung around the corner, ready to fire. Ashley and company followed behind.

The geth raised their weapons but didn't shoot. A red-suited quarian male stood to his feet.

"Shepard?"

"Reegar?" Shepard recognized the man's voice. "What's with the security detail? Why aren't you dead?"

"I should be asking you the same question. We've been trying to get out of this hellhole for two days but the husks have kept us inside."

"Why are the geth not trying to kill you?"

Reegar looked around him at the synthetic lifeforms carrying weapons. He shrugged.

"When you have a common enemy, you make friends."

"The geth are fighting the Reapers?" Shepard asked.

"These ones at least. Didn't happen until the damn Reapers made it through our orbit."

"This might be because you rewrote the geth on Heretic Station, Shepard," Miranda reminded him. "They'll fight against the quarians because they're a threat to the geth existence, but the Reapers are a larger threat to all of life, not just organics."

"Basic survival math," said James, who had rejoined the larger group after surveying the bunker.

Shepard considered Miranda's proposal. It made sense. But still, he was wary.

"I have orders from Tali to get you out of here, Reegar," he said. "We've made a path out. Let's leave."

"Right behind you then."

"Please tell me the flashlights aren't coming too…" Jack groaned.

"Like Reegar said, if they're fighting against the Reapers too… Then they're welcome on my ship."

Jack rolled her eyes.

Shepard motioned for everyone to move out.

* * *

><p>"Now it makes sense," said Kasumi. "I was wondering how Tali was able to communicate with the <em>Normandy <em>from so far away after the Reapers had invaded. But if she was using a geth platform to bounce from one FTL bouy to another… The geth work too fast for the Reapers to sever the connection."

Shepard nodded to Kasumi, not really paying attention to what she was saying. He counted heads as they jumped aboard the shuttles.

"Shep? Are you listening?"

"Hold on Kasumi. One moment."

Everyone was accounted for. All but the fallen.

"Shep…"

"What?"

"We can use the geth to get a message to Earth."

* * *

><p>"Joker get us out of this damn system! Now!"<p>

"Hold onto your hats!"

"_Idenna _to _Normandy_, are you ready for the jump?" Tali asked over the comm.

"Joker here, we are green. All ships are go!"

Once the fleet cleared the relay, Shepard let his breath go. They made it in time. Even though the Alliance hadn't sent all ships promised, the ships they did send were enough to keep the Reapers at bay until all the combined fleets could make the jump.

What a day…

"EDI, send a message to the _Idenna_. We're headed for the Citadel. Time to gather the troops."

"Message away, Shepard. Anything else?"

"Notify Tali of the casualties. Have the warrant officer and Ashley report to the comm room for debriefing."

"Lieutenant Williams is already there waiting."

After the debrief, Shepard resigned himself to his quarters. He removed his armor, showered, and then sat down at his console and scrolled through his messages. There were none, thanks to the Reapers' effective communication wipeout. He contemplated what Kasumi had said about using the geth to send messages.

He composed a draft to send to the Council and Alliance to notify them of the events on Rannoch and saved it. Then he called Ashley up to his quarters.

As they lay together on his bed, both weary and worn from battle, Ashley reminded him, "We're going to need more help in order to win this."

"I know," he said. "But we can do this… I know we can."

Ashley framed his jaw with her right hand and smiled.

"As long as you say so, oh mighty Commander… I believe you."

He planted a kiss on her lips and then wrapped her in his arms. For once he was tired, and for what felt like a decade since his resurrection on Lazarus Station he fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it. Critical reviews are welcome. Thanks for reading. Cheers!<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry it's been so long, people. Thanks for your patience.  
><strong>**When I started this chapter a long time ago, I hadn't played ME3. Even after playing it, I decided to go in this direction. No, the damn Crucible is not going to be in this story because I thought it was a crap way to fight the Reapers AKA *plot device*. But anyways, I'm sure you all have your own opinions about the game. If you want to hear mine, PM me. Enjoy the chapter. More to come. I see the the ending off in the horizon. Cheers, friends. **

* * *

><p>The Arrival Has Come<br>Chapter Fourteen: Checkmate

"You can't do that," Ashley exclaimed.

"What do you mean I can't do that?" Tiberius asked her, crossing his arms.

"It's illegal, Skipper. You can't do it."

"I'll do what I want, Lieutenant. Stand down."

Ashley threw her hands in the air. "Fine!" Then she flicked the king-shaped chess piece with her finger and sat back to pout.

"Checkmate," he crowed.

Shepard smiled, savoring his small victory in the game of chess. It had taken less than ten moves to put Ashley in checkmate.

"Ash, it's just a game," Tiberius reminded her.

"You didn't play fair. You can't move the knight like that." She crossed her arms and receded further into the cushions of the couch.

"I've never known you to be a sore loser," he laughed.

"How'd you even get so good at this game anyways?"

He shrugged. "Had a lot of free time running around the galaxy. Got good at it."

The lieutenant shook her head and rolled her eyes.

As Shepard collected the chess pieces and placed them back on their respective squares, he kept his eye on her. She was wearing one of his old N7 shirts. Her feet were bare, her hair was down, and much to Shepard's pleasure all she wore underneath were a pair of Alliance-issue boxer underpants. He had yet to judge the state of her upper torso and if there were any garments present or not.

As he watched her – eyes zoned out, her mind elsewhere drifting through a memory or thought – he couldn't help but wish that it had always been like this. He wished that time had never slipped away from them; that he had never died, that Cerberus had never recruited him. They could have had more time together. With the Reapers threatening the existence of every organic life form, time was short.

In recalling the fact, he set the last piece properly back on the board. With a smile on his lips and a predatory step out of his desk chair, he slid beside her on the couch.

"Hey," he said, grabbing her attention, "you okay?"

She sighed. "Yeah. I'm good. Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About?" Shepard asked.

Ashley stretched, flexing her fingers and kicking out her feet, and then curled up against Shepard's chest.

"Us," she sighed. "This is nice."

His arms wrapped around her. "I think so too."

"What are we gonna do once this is all over? Provided we're all still alive."

Tiberius shrugged. "I don't know. I think just being alive is a good start."

She nodded. With a smirk, Ashley looked up at him. "Well then, let's make the most of it, yeah?"

She pushed him down onto the couch. Shepard didn't fight her for dominance. One of her eyebrows shot scandalously upward as his hands began to slither up her toned thighs. She swatted them away.

"We're gonna play by _my_ rules this time," she whispered before leaning into him for a kiss. "Checkmate."

* * *

><p>Later on, Shepard, James, Garrus, and Jacob stooped over their workbenches making alterations to their respective weapons. James found a part on Rannoch to control the accuracy of his assault rifle. Garrus picked up a quarian-engineered scope to add to his sniper rifle, and Kasumi swiped a shotgun shredder from the geth hub base for Jacob. Shepard was in the process of cleaning Charlotte, his beloved Revenant assault rifle, in order to later tack on the scope that would provide the much-needed extra accuracy.<p>

The weapon adjustments had gone smoothly and the company had been pleasurable, the four of them bantering back and forth. After the initial cleaning and modifications, they moved to the center of the work area in the shuttle bay and brought crates around to sit together. They talked about politics, Cerberus, their weapon mods, their relationships, and finally circled back to politics and the situation they were going to face on the Citadel.

"The Council won't like it," said Garrus, "that you decided to keep the geth instead of destroy them."

"Hell, when has the Council ever liked anything the commander's done?" Jacob snorted.

"I don't know about the Council, but the Alliance boys always gave you a good rap for when you saved the Citadel," James added.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't matter what the Alliance thinks of Shepard. In this mess, we're out on our asses. They're gonna flip when we arrive at the Citadel. No way they'll let us in."

"I've written a message to warn them," said Shepard. "Kasumi's going to help me get it to the geth."

"As if a warning will make it better." Jacob shook his head. "No way they'll approve. I got ten credits that says they pull their fleet just out of blind stupidity."

"Come on, they've got to know that we need everyone we can to fight the Reapers. I'll take your bet, Jacob. Ten credits says they freak but help anyways," said James.

"Deal."

Jacob and James shook hands.

"The whole galaxy's going to hell and you two are making bets about Council backing. Unbelievable," Garrus muttered. "Humans."

"So what now, Commander?" James looked down the sight of his Mattock to check the upgrade. "We just wait until the trip's over and we get to the Citadel?"

"For now, yeah. Like I said, I've got a message to relay to the Council. I also want to try to get in contact with Anderson."

"Sounds good to me," Garrus added. "Just tell me where to shoot."

The four of them finished their weapon upgrades shortly afterward and then dispersed to resume their duties aboard the _Normandy_. Shepard took the elevator to the crew deck. Once on the crew deck, he headed to the port side observatory, where he knew the Japanese thief was waiting for him to swing by.

"Kasumi?" he asked the empty room.

The door closed behind him and he stepped further in.

Off in the corner, light crackled as her tactical cloak disengaged. With a few touches to her omni-tool, Kasumi said, "It's about time you got here. What have you been doing this whole time? Canoodling?"

Shepard rubbed the back of his neck. "Not the whole time…"

Miss Goto shook her head. "Forget I asked. You here about sending the message via the geth?"

"Yes. Can we do it?"

She lifted a hand to her face, touching the dark purple paint on her lower lip. After a moment, she said, "Yes. We can, but we'll have to halt our trajectory towards the Citadel and find a cooperative geth platform."

Shepard spoke up towards the room's comm system. "EDI, do you know if Legion is onboard any of the geth ships?"

"Legion is piloting a solo geth fighter escorting the _Idenna_. Would you like me to send a message to the quarian and geth fleets?"

"Notify Tali and the admirals that we're making a pit stop, but tell them to keep going. We'll meet them at the Citadel. What's the nearest system not under Reaper control?"

"Scanning… The Eagle Nebula is free of hostiles. Warning: I detect Cerberus transmissions from Korlus."

"What kind of transmissions?" Kasumi asked the AI.

"They are simple broadcasting signals. A regular ship would register the signal as civilian. However, my knowledge of Cerberus code allows me to recognize this signal as false. There is also a large energy signature that I cannot register from this distance."

"How far to the nebula?"

"Three hours and fifteen minutes."

"Tell Joker to set a course for Korlus, and send a message to Legion to meet us planetside," Shepard ordered.

"On the way, Shepard. Anything else?"

"Have the team prep for a mission and meet in the comm room for a briefing. I want to find out what Cerberus is doing on Korlus."

"What about the geth fleet, Shep?" Kasumi asked. "You want them to just hang out in orbit or what?"

"No. Let's use the shock troops to our advantage."

"Never thought I'd see the day that Commander Shepard used geth to take out Cerberus," she mumbled before prepping her gear.

* * *

><p>"Shepard-Commander," Legion acknowledged as he stepped out of his fighter.<p>

"Hey Legion," Shepard replied.

"You're friendly with a geth? This is nuts," Ashley observed.

"He helped me destroy the Collectors. He's a friend, Ash."

"'Friend' is a sentimental term with no meaning to the geth, but this unit comprehends the implied meaning. What is the objective of our mission, Shepard-Commander?" Legion asked.

Shepard took a breath before laying out the plan. "We have two objectives. First, I want to find out what Cerberus is doing here. Second, use the comm buoy in this system to get a message to the Council on the Citadel. Legion, you're going to bounce the signal from buoy to buoy to get the message there. Before we do that, I want you to lead a team of your primes through the base and root out any Cerberus troops. If you find anything useful along the way, make sure you grab it."

The geth nodded. "Understood, Commander."

"I understand we are infiltrating a Cerberus facility, but to what end?" Miranda asked. "Why not just send in the geth or an Alliance team to clear the place out?"

"This could be a lead to the Illusive Man. It's a golden opportunity that I don't want to waste. EDI said that there's a large energy signature somewhere inside this facility. If anyone comes across anything, radio in. I want to know what Cerberus was up to."

Shepard examined the faces of his team members. They all appeared determined and up for the task. He could not have been more proud to be surrounded by such brave and honorable people.

"Alright everyone, we know what we have to do. Let's do it."

* * *

><p>"Please don't shoot!"<p>

Shepard lowered his Revenant from the man standing before him. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"One of the scientists on this station–" Shepard raised his gun again. The scientist cowered further into the corner. "But please, listen to me!" the man cried. "I can help you! Cerberus forced me to help them! I never wanted any of this!"

Shepard dropped his weapon to his side, but Ashley kept her Vindicator trained on the guy.

"How do we know he isn't lying?"

"I swear! I can prove it! I'll tell you everything you want to know, just don't shoot me."

"Sounds like that asari on Virmire in Saren's lab," Ashley growled. "Sure you're not indoctrinated?"

"Indoc-? No! I was careful!" The man shook his head. "I promise. Just…listen to me."

Shepard nodded. "What's your name?"

"Doctor Eric Hoch."

"What was Cerberus doing here?"

"We were… The Illusive Man wanted us to… We did experiments on the rachni."

"What a surprise!" Ashley snarled.

"The rachni queen is here?" Shepard asked.

Dr. Hoch nervously fumbled with his hands. "Yes. If your scanners picked up any large heat signatures, that's her."

"Where did you find her? Last I knew she was in hiding."

"I don't know where they found her," Dr. Hoch continued to explain, "but they brought her in and we started running experiments on her and her…children."

"To do what?"

"To integrate the rachni with Reaper tech, but to repurpose them to fulfill the Illusive Man's wishes."

"Cerberus has done experiments on rachni before," said Garrus, "but Miranda said that there was nothing definitive. Shock troops. What changed?"

"I don't know. I wasn't the head scientist, but I know that the Illusive Man's orders were to have them ready to go as soon as possible. He was going to deploy them along with his troops."

"And the Reaper tech? What does that have to do with the rachni?" Shepard asked.

"The Illusive Man now believes that he can control the Reapers. Blending the rachni and the Reapers together is his test to see if it can be done."

"As if we didn't think he was crazy before, now he's jumped off the ledge," said Shepard. He shook his head. "All right… So where is the rachni queen?"

"She's in the central holding chamber, but it's well guarded," the doctor told them. "I can open the way for you, but good luck getting to her."

"Great. Now unlock the doors so we can go through."

"You'll let me go?"

Shepard shrugged and patted the stock of his Revenant. "Unless you _want _me to kill you…"

Dr. Hoch visibly swallowed hard, nodded, and scurried over to the terminal to unlock the doors. His fingers were a blur, and five seconds later, he said, "They're open. I'm getting out of here. I've had enough of Cerberus."

"Me too," Shepard mumbled as he, Ashley, and Garrus left the lab and ventured into the next room.

They made it to the central holding chamber with a few scratches from the Cerberus troops. Before Shepard bypassed the door, the rest of the team fell in.

"Been one hell of a job getting through this place," Zaeed commented wearily. "Those Cerberus shits were everywhere. Think we killed enough of them, princess?" He nudged Jack, whose biotics still swirled about her from the last fight.

"Always ready for more, scarface."

Shepard gave the hold position command and assigned a few to enter the chamber with him. He slapped his omni-tool onto the door. The holographic gears turned. His anticipation mounted.

Stepping into the room with his Revenant raised, he scanned as he moved and kept an eye out for any unfriendlies. He determined that the coast was clear and motioned for Garrus to scan the perimeter.

Shepard, Liara, and Ashley moved towards the center of the room, where trapped inside a shielded box was the rachni queen. The team approached warily.

"We've got a few dead scientists up here," said Garrus from the upper level near the research terminals. "Hard to say how they died-"

"SHEPARD!"

Tiberius jolted suddenly when his name belted from Liara's lips. He stared at her. Her muscles were locked as if in the middle of a seizure, her eyes black as night, and she held her clenched fists at her sides, shaking and quivering.

"What the hell's wrong with T'Soni?" Ashley asked, training her rifle on the asari.

"Your friend is our mediator, Shepard," Liara spoke, in a voice unnaturally low, obviously not her own.

The commander then realized that it was no longer Liara speaking, but the rachni queen. He put a hand on Ashley's rifle to have her lower it. Then he walked closer towards the shielded box.

"How did you get here?" he asked the rachni queen.

"The indoctrinated ones found us, stole us from our peaceful new world, and brought us to this loud and deafening place," the queen responded through Liara.

"You mean Cerberus?"

"The indoctrinated ones. The ones who follow the sour yellow note."

"The Reapers."

"Yes."

"How do I know you didn't help them willingly?"

"They have taken our children! Used them for songs of death and chaos, destroyed them with needles and the blaring of sirens!" Liara yelled. "We would not hand over our children freely. You must believe us, Shepard. You must free us!"

"I'm fighting a war against the Reapers and I need help. You said before in your message on Ilium that I could count on you when the time came. Is that still true?"

"Free us, Shepard, and we will swear to help you end the song of the sour yellow note."

"What if she turns on us?" asked Ashley. "How do we know that Cerberus hasn't done anything to make her one of theirs, and that she's just lying to us before she kills us all?"

"We have been poked and prodded and heard the music of oily shadows and yellow notes. We only wish to sing melodies to our children again, songs of light and color. We will help you, so that those songs can be sung once again."

"And your children?" asked Shepard.

"They will follow the sound of our harmonies."

"Garrus, do you see any controls up there?"

"On it, Shepard. Although, I think you might want to tell the queen to have her uh, children, to back off."

Tiberius looked towards the upper level, where Garrus was pinned against the control panel by two large rachni. Their tentacles twisted around the turian's arms as if ready to pull him apart limb by limb.

Ashley aimed up at the rachni. Shepard turned back to the queen.

"Let him go, and I'll let you go. Help us, and you can raise your children in peace. I promise."

"Very well, Shepard. We will help, but this is farewell."

The queen's hold on Liara disappeared and the asari stumbled to her knees. Tiberius ran to her, put her back on her feet, and then looked back up at the control panel. The rachni receded into a nearby hallway. Garrus rolled his shoulders and then tapped a few commands into the panel. A large crane grabbed onto the corners of the shielded box and pulled it back into a tunnel. The tunnel door opened and as the shielded box containing the rachni queen disappeared within, the door closed once again.

"Well…that was invigorating, to say the least," Garrus laughed. "Now can we please get out of here?"

Shepard nodded and tapped his comm with a finger.

"Shepard to Legion, do you copy?"

"We copy, Shepard-Commander."

"Head groundside. We'll meet you there. It's time to get that message out."

"Acknowledged."

Once the message was away, the entire team and the geth unit boarded the shuttles back to the _Normandy_. There was a quick drop-off for the geth on their vessel, and then Shepard's team scrambled in through shuttle bay.

Vega and Garrus declared a drinking match and invited Zaeed and Jacob to join. Jack promised to drink them all under the table. Mordin tried to talk them out of it, but Miranda distracted him with a question about biotic upgrades. Liara climbed into the elevator intent on continuing her Shadow Broker work. The others decided to turn in early before the long ride back to the Citadel.

Legion, who had opted to join the _Normandy _team rather than board the geth frigate, stayed behind with Shepard.

"Shepard-Commander. We found information in the Cerberus facility that would be beneficial to your campaign."

"What did you find, Legion?" Tiberius asked.

"Files containing personal information and records on Cerberus command personnel, including the Illusive Man himself. We determined that you would find information on the operations specialist Kai Leng useful as well."

"Thanks, Legion. Any info we can get on them is helpful."

"Agreed, Commander. We would also like to tell you that the rachni departed from Korlus approximately 3.25 minutes ago, and will head to the relay on a course for the Citadel. The Citadel council has received your message. Confirmation was sent to this unit during mention of the rachni."

"Anything else?" Shepard asked.

"We will stay aboard the _Normandy _until we have reached the Citadel. We have promised information sharing with EDI and will be busy doing so for the duration of the trip."

"Don't get too carried away."

"That will be impossible, Commander, as the geth are incapable of carrying their units and we do not know of any systems aboard the _Normandy _aside from the shuttle cranes capable of doing so. This is therefore an irrelevant task."

Shepard shook his head. He was happy when EDI stepped in to explain the idiom over the comm.

* * *

><p>Tiberius and Ashley finally found time for themselves after the debrief. They ate together in Shepard's cabin and talked about the day's mission. Afterward, they sat on the bed sifting through datapads with wartime information. They worked in silence until Shepard lost his concentration and turned his attention to the woman sitting across from him.<p>

After a lengthy kiss, she whispered. "We're almost there, Skipper. Off to the Citadel with an army of geth, rachni, and quarians."

"And then we fight the Reapers."

"It all comes down to that, doesn't it?"

He kissed her again and then raised a hand and touched her face affectionately.

"Yes, it does."

* * *

><p><strong>RR people. You know the drill. Thanks to all my readers.**


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